Property 20 February 2026, 3:50pm

Based on annual data, it can be seen that last year was the first in nine years to see fewer than 13,000 homes built, with only 12,062 homes completed. This means that expectations that 2024 would see fewer homes handed over than in previous years have been fulfilled.

However, the number of building permits has already turned around:

based on building permits issued and simple notifications, 28,081 homes were set to be built, which is 37% more than a year earlier based on unadjusted data.

As expected, the fourth quarter of last year saw the usual seasonal trends, with no change in underlying patterns. Consequently,

the number of housing construction permits continued to rise, with over 8,000 issued — the highest figure in three years.

Although seasonally adjusted data does not show further growth compared to the previous quarter, it is unlikely that the impact of the Home Start Programme would be this limited. Therefore, we can expect further growth in the coming quarters.

The number of apartments handed over also followed this trend in the last three months of the year,

painting a much bleaker picture.

With 4,572 occupancy permits issued, this figure is slightly lower than a year earlier, and seasonally adjusted data continues to show a downward trend. While the increase in building permits suggests a potential turnaround, housing construction is a slow process, with significant completions likely to occur towards the end of this year or early next year.

Overall, today's data suggests that

the severe downturn in housing construction has passed its lowest point,

and the number of homes delivered will slowly start to increase in the coming quarters. While the launch of the Home Start Programme may already have impacted the data for the fourth quarter, this is currently most evident in the number of building permits issued rather than the number of completions, since the full implementation of a project can take several years.

Therefore, the market upturn reflected in the number of building permits issued is only expected to be reflected in the number of completed homes after a long lead time. This means that the impact of the Home Start Programme

will be visible in new completions, albeit with a delay of a few months.

In the capital, 14% fewer dwellings were built than in 2024; in towns of county rank 26% fewer, and in villages 6.6% fewer. The number of dwellings put to use increased (by 8.9%) only in smaller, non-county-rank towns. While its share decreased slightly, nearly one third of new dwellings were built in Budapest.

There is also a strong spatial concentration of housing construction within Budapest. 62% of the 3,949 new dwellings built in Budapest were constructed in four districts:

• District XIII saw the construction of 732 new dwellings,
• District IX saw the construction of 636 new dwellings,
• District VIII saw the construction of 631 new dwellings, and
• District XI saw the construction of 458 new dwellings.

Apart from an 8.2% increase in Pest region, a 8.8% increase in Southern Transdanubia, and a 3.9% increase in Western Transdanubia, the number of dwellings put to use decreased in all other regions year-on-year.

Across the countryside, a higher number of new apartments was put to use only in a few larger settlements - among the county seats,

• Nyíregyháza (294),
• Kecskemét (276) and
• Szeged (210), as well as
• Siófok (287) and
• Keszthely (226).

At the national level, the number of dwellings to be built based on construction permits and simple declarations was 28,081, 37% more than a year earlier.

In Budapest, permits were issued for a total of 10,959 dwellings, 56% more than a year earlier. 71% of the permitted housing construction in the capital will be realized in three districts.

• In District XI alone 4,247 permits were issued, followed by
• District XIII with 2054 permits, and
• District X with 1458 permits.

Among towns of county rank, Debrecen and Szeged stand out with 926 and 864 permits respectively. At the same time, more than 500 dwellings were permitted in Nyíregyháza, Győr, and Székesfehérvár, too.

 Compared to last year, the number of permits increased in every region. The highest increase was in Southern Great Plain (76%), Budapest (56%), and Central Transdanubia (49%).

Cover image (for illustration purposes only): Getty Images