Driven partly by the Government’s Housing Programme, the sector’s performance has been remarkable in Q1 2017, in the wake of the positive housing market trend reversal seen in 2016. In the period January-March 2017, the number of building permits issued rose by 89 percent year-on-year, the latest data published by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) reveals.

As another positive trend, the persistent upward trend in the number of building permits issued has translated into a rising number of newly built homes. In the first three months of 2017, the number of newly completed residential property units was 2061, up by 47 percent year-on-year. These figures show marked improvement compared to the years prior to the introduction of the Family Housing Allowance and the reduced VAT rate on construction works: in comparison to the average of first quarter data in the years 2013-2015, the number of building permits issued increased more than five-fold at the beginning of 2017.

The fact that in the period January-February 2017 the value of housing loans soared by more than 50 percent year-on-year also confirms a robust recovery. The simultaneous effect of multiple factors has been driving dynamic lending growth: low interest rates, improving employment and income trends are underpinning household investment.

Budding favourable trends are expected to gain momentum in coming quarters, as Government measures will boost both supply and demand on the housing market.

(Ministry for National Economy)