Being Hungarian, I always had a dream of owning a property in Hungary. First time I started thinking about it is about 15 years ago and then later in '98 when I was on a holiday. At that time a gorgeous approx. 50m2, 4th floor apartment with balcony, overlooking the street in Pest would cost around 4Million Forint, now the same apartment would cost about 5 times as much! Yes I am banging my head against the wall for not purchasing then, but my circumstances just didn't allow it.After my last trip to Hungary with my husband and daughter, I decided to look into the property market again. Prices are going up so quickly ever since the country became part of the European Union in 2004. You can now easily spend 20 - 30Million Forint on an apartment anywhere in Budapest.
Because the prices are so crazy in the capital, I decided to look at other parts of the country like the Lake Balaton region. Here you can still purchase a property for around 10Million Forint. 
Hungary is a country that has Old World charm with contemporary lifestyles and it is forever evolving. It is full of culture, history, wonderfully diverse landscapes, hot spring baths and I could go on. You are never short of things to do and see like festivals all throughout the year, exciting nightlife, museums, concerts.
There are a couple very helpful sites on the Hungarian property market like ingatlan.net and Otthon Centrum - http://www.oc.hu/ in particular. Otthon Centrum is also quite quick to respond to your enquieries.
Finding a good property has the same criteria as in all countries. Good location, having all amenimeties, schools and universities in the vicinity, good public transport etc.
Now a tip if you are thinking of buying property for investment: People in Hungary still like to live where they work. Here in Australia people will travel great distances to get to work. I know quite a few people that travel 2-4 hours every day for this reason.
There is a lot of foreign investment in Hungary since the abolishment of communism in 1990. The Irish in particular have bought up property at very cheap prices at that time and are now profiting very handsomely! But I beleive it is not too late for any of us! If anyone has bought property in Hungary in the last couple of years, please let us know. I would love to hear how the transaction went and if you had any complications. If you are a non Hungarian, did you have any problems with language barriers or did most professional people spoke English? Hope to hear from you soon! :)))
1 comment:
If (unlike Alexandra) you're interested in property in Hungary simply for its investment potential, then you might want to look elsewhere for the time being.
Most commentators I read don't rate Hungary's prospects as highly as those of its neighbours, particularly Slovenia.
A number of question marks hang over Hungary's economic future. It suffers from high (and growing) corruption, very high taxes, and political uncertainty.
Of course, when the major EU nations finally allow the free movement of labour which they have so far denied to the EU's 1994 entrants, there will be an economic boom in the east, and everyone will profit. So far, though, there's no sign of this happening.
I find the Budapest Times to be a good source for economic news about Hungary. They're online at
www.budapesttimes.hu
If you need an accountant in Hungary, try
www.geocities.com/moneyzita
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