Average House Price 12 Times Annual Salary in Budapest

The average property costs 8 years’ worth of the average net salary in Hungary. The situation is worse in Budapest, where it takes 12 years to buy the average property – despite higher wages.

The ration is getting worse as average salaries grew slower than house prices. Source: Ingatlanhirek.hu

The case was better in 2014 when it took 6.8 years (countrywide) – but wages have grown 20% and house prices by 40% since.

The situation is worse in economically better-off parts of the country where jobs exist – but demand for housing is growing much faster. The lack of new housing developments have a lot to answer for – and recent government efforts to boost house building have a dubious effect as well. By creating a sudden demand for new housing through the loan-for-children scheme and reduced VAT until 2020, demand for construction materials as well as construction workers have hugely outpaced supply, creating shortages and further price hikes.

European price to income ratio for properties, in the meantime, appears to be determined more by wage levels – rather than house price levels. So if you ever toy with the idea of “moving to a cheaper country”, make sure you take your home salary with you. Locals are poor and live like that for a reason.