Chinese people purchasing the most housings in Hungary

The latest surveys revealed that almost half of the applications from outside the EU for purchasing real estate are submitted by Chinese people, according to VG.hu. The Turkish applicants are not far behind them.

Purchasers initiate only two percent of the overall real estate contracts in Hungary from beyond the borders of the European Union and the European Economic Community. This counts as an increase, but the rate is still quite low. From about 150,000 purchase contracts made last year, only 3,154 cases required administrative permission from the government. This number was 2,778 in 2016.

According to the data shared on the government’s website, the number of real estate purchases with licensing obligation increased by almost 10 percent.

If purchasers from the EU countries are also taken into account, the overall rate of foreigner buyers is around 6-7 percent.

The rate of the different nationalities is somewhat similar to the year before. The only significant change is the radical increase of Chinese purchasers who bought 20 percent more real estates compared to the last year – probably partly thanks to the residency bond program.

However, the base is still small, so the Chinese customers are still far away from dominating the housing market. The number of their real estate purchases increased only by 260. The Chinese transactions are mostly related to flats and houses, while resorts, weekend houses and economic territories are rare.