Hungarian rents fell again in October 2026: down 1.1% nationally and 1.3% in Budapest

According to the joint rent index of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH, also known as HCSO) and the property portal ingatlan.com, asking rents in October 2026 were 1.1% lower nationally and 1.3% lower in Budapest than in September (KSH–ingatlan.com rent index, October 2026, in Hungarian). KSH sums it up in one line: rents fell further. The figures were released on 12 November 2026, the date the September release had named as the next publication (KSH, September 2026). Hungarian news sites Telex and Pénzcentrum covered it the same day, based on an ingatlan.com press release.

This article goes through the official figures, the extra data reported in the press, and what the index does not measure.

From the KSH October release:

• Nominal rents, month on month: -1.1% nationally, -1.3% in Budapest.
• Nominal rents, year on year: +5.5% nationally, +5.0% in Budapest.
• Against the 2021 base period: KSH writes "75–75%" higher, meaning asking rents were 75% higher both nationally and in Budapest.
• Real rent index (adjusted for inflation), month on month: -1.5% nationally, -1.7% in Budapest.
• Real rent index, year on year: +3.5% nationally, +3.0% in Budapest.
• Real rent index against the 2021 base: +17% nationally, +18% in Budapest.

Nominal annual growth is still positive, but it has slowed. In September it was 6.0% nationally and 5.3% in Budapest (KSH, September 2026).

Sources: KSH September, KSH October.

The index fell in two consecutive months. The October drop was much larger than the September one.

Pénzcentrum reports that there has been no monthly fall of this size since December 2020. October has been a weak month before: national rents fell 0.5% in October 2024 and 0.7% in October 2025 (Pénzcentrum). This year's fall was larger.

KSH splits the capital into district groups. Monthly changes in October (KSH):

• outer Pest districts: +1.2% (the only group that rose);
• transitional Pest districts: -0.6%;
• Buda hill districts: -1.5%;
• inner Pest districts: -1.6%;
• other Buda districts: -2.3%.

Year on year, the outer Pest districts had the largest increase (+7.3%) and the inner Pest districts the smallest (+3.1%).

The KSH page has no breakdown by region or county seat. Hungarian press reports, based on ingatlan.com data (Telex, Pénzcentrum), say:

• rents fell in six of the eight regions surveyed;
• the largest fall was in Southern Transdanubia (-2.7%), followed by the Northern Great Plain (-2.1%) and Western Transdanubia (-1.4%);
• the median monthly rent in county seats was HUF 185,000 (Pénzcentrum);
• about HUF 220,000 in Debrecen and Kecskemét, HUF 200,000 in Szeged and Győr, and HUF 180,000 in Pécs.

The median asking rent for rental flats in Budapest in early November was HUF 255,000, against HUF 260,000 a year earlier (Telex). The most expensive districts were District II (HUF 364,000) and District V (HUF 350,000). The cheapest was District XXIII (HUF 160,000).

This is a median of listings, not the index. The two measure different things, so one cannot be derived from the other.

According to ingatlan.com data, 9,331 flats and houses were listed for rent in Budapest in early November. That is 2.3% more than at the end of September, but 9.4% fewer than a year earlier (Telex).

In county seats, listings were down 16.9% year on year but up 2.1% over five weeks. The spread between cities is wide: year on year, -26% in Debrecen, -43% in Kecskemét, -23% in Pécs and +25% in Szeged (Pénzcentrum).

KSH reports that 93% of listings were flats in multi-unit buildings and 6.9% were family houses. In Budapest, family houses made up 3.0% of listings. Private individuals posted 44% of listings nationally and 43% in Budapest (KSH).

László Balogh, lead economic expert at ingatlan.com, said tenant demand and tenants' ability to pay put a limit on rent increases. He added that many people bought homes with interest-subsidised loans (Pénzcentrum). According to Telex, he also said buying property to let has become less attractive, and some owners left the market, which reduced supply.

This is the portal's reading. KSH does not name causes in its release.

1. It measures asking rents, not agreed rents. The index is built from listings. It does not show what landlords and tenants finally agree on.
2. It is experimental. KSH publishes this series under experimental statistics.
3. No average rent per square metre. The KSH October page does not give one, so we do not quote one.
4. One month is not a trend. After two monthly falls in a row, we still do not know what November will show. The next figures are due on 10 December 2026.
5. The regional, county-seat and supply numbers in the press are ingatlan.com's own data, not part of the official KSH release.

• In October 2026, asking rents fell 1.1% nationally and 1.3% in Budapest in one month.
• Annual growth slowed: 5.5% nationally and 5.0% in Budapest (6.0% and 5.3% in September).
• Budapest rental supply was 9.4% lower than a year earlier but 2.3% higher than at the end of September.

Related reading: Blog archive.

• KSH: KSH–ingatlan.com rent index, October 2026 (Hungarian): https://www.ksh.hu/s/kiserleti-statisztika/kiadvanyok/kshingatlancom-lakberindex-2026-oktober/
• KSH: KSH–ingatlan.com rent index, September 2026 (Hungarian): https://www.ksh.hu/s/kiserleti-statisztika/kiadvanyok/kshingatlancom-lakberindex-2026-szeptember/
• Telex (12 November 2026, Hungarian): https://telex.hu/gazdasag/2026/11/12/alberlet-kiado-lakas-2026-oktober-arak-ingatlan
• Pénzcentrum (12 November 2026, Hungarian): https://www.penzcentrum.hu/otthon/20261112/megtort-a-dragulas-az-alberletpiacon-kozel-hat-eve-nem-volt-ekkora-arcsokkenes-magyarorszagon-1208920

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