The capital of Hungary has been very attractive for tourists for quite a while before the pandemic. Now that the situation is improving, the urban real estate market is becoming relevant for foreign investors over again. However, it is difficult to understand the diversity of districts without having any experience. The expert of the company Perfect Invest Hungary Kft Ilona Csik tell us how to choose the right one for you.
How Budapest Works
The main division of the Hungarian capital is into two parts: the mountainous side of Buda and the flat side of Pest. In Buda life flows steadily, on the contrary, there is a concentration of entertainment establishments and a vibrant nightlife in Pest. In Buda there are old manors and historical buildings, as well as relatively low-rise buildings (five to seven floors), a lot of trees and park areas, in Pest - dense high-rise buildings and sparse greenery.
The map of Budapest districts
A number of streets on the Buda side are inaccessible to public transport, while in the Pest part there is a well-developed metro, trams (even at night routs) and trolleybuses. Tram and bus services are developed on both banks of the Danube. Attractions are also evenly distributed between Buda and Pest.
The city is divided into 23 districts. However, not every one of them is suitable for tourist trips and even more so for investments. Which ones should you pay attention to and why?
The Best Areas of Budapest for Living and Investing
Ilona Csik, Perfect Invest Hungary Kft
- Let's start from the Pest side. This is the main area of interest to foreign investors. The most popular districts among them are the fifth, as well as parts of the sixth and seventh, which are bounded by the Large Boulevard Ring.
The most expensive area is District V. Here, next to the Parliament building, is the most prestigious real estate in Budapest.
It is followed by District VI, where the Opera House and Andrassy Avenue are located, which is also called the Budapest Champs-Elysees. In the same area, but already behind the boulevard ring, the diplomatic part of the city begins with the residences of foreign missions, villas and prestigious residential complexes. This territory is quite small, and it ends with the Heroes Square and a large park following it.
Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest
From the investment point of view, real estate in those areas is interesting, because all the main attractions of the capital are within walking distance and rent is very expensive.
Tourists, especially young people, are interested in part of District VII, which is located within the Great Boulevard Ring in the vicinity of the Synagogue (the largest in Europe). Here, on the territory of the famous pedestrian zone Gozsdu udvar, most of the night life is concentrated. On weekends, this and the surrounding areas turn into one big endless party.
The Budapest's famous pedestrian zone
In addition to drinking and entertainment establishments, there are also residential buildings near Gozsdu udvar. Tourists often choose apartments in them for daily rent.
I also want to highlight District XIII. This is a huge office area, which is called the Budapest Manhattan with a whole avenue of huge modern business buildings.
The district is located in such a way that one part of it faces the bank of the Danube, and on the other part of the business avenue there is a sleeping area. The coastline, which borders the fifth district, is divided into prestigious Riverside and Marina Part locations.
The view of the prestigious location of Budapest
The local complexes are not historical buildings, but modern buildings surrounded by parks, jogging and bike paths, shops, underground parking and other infrastructure benefits. Square meters here are not cheap, the most expensive apartments are those that overlook the Danube and the Marina Part.
By the way, all apartments of the local houses have terraces from 6 to 20-30 sq. m. And there is also very clean air: the thing is that there are actually no roads here, only locals come to this area, which reduces the number of cars and pollutions.
There is also a subway and a huge shopping center Duna Plaza, where you can find literally everything: banks, a cinema, shops for every taste, restaurants, hairdressers and other service facilities.
Going deeper into our "Manhattan" from the river into the city, we get to the second (sleeping) side of the thirteenth district. The houses here are also new and modern, there are public squares and many cozy green courtyards. Housing is already cheaper than on the banks of the Danube, and people buy it mainly for themselves for permanent residence. In the Riverside and Marina Part, on the contrary, real estate is interesting to investors because of the expensive rent.
Moving to Buda, there are several areas that may be of interest to potential buyers of real estate. Among them, I would single out the prestigious District II and District XII.
The main development of District II is villas or small (for four to six apartments) complexes with a separate courtyard for each owner and a view of the mountains. Here, wealthy people acquire housing for themselves. Diplomats also like to settle here.
District XII is similar to the second: the same mountainous terrain, villas and houses for several owners. It is also considered a prestigious place: people of high income and members of the government enter here. There are no shops and tourist attractions, only residential buildings with large separate plots.
Both of these areas may be interesting to wealthy foreigners who are looking for real estate in Budapest not for renting to tourists, but for permanent residence, including for themselves. There are international schools in this part of the city, which is important for families with children.
About other districts
In remote areas (Districts XVII, XVIII, XXII), real estate is noticeably cheaper. Nevertheless, according to the estimates of Hungarian realtors, foreigners do not invest nor buy housing there for themselves. Those are not prestigious and unprofitable from an investment point of view. Hungarians with a limited budget and young families with their first homes settle in such areas.
Based on the results of the conversation with the expert , we will highlight the following theses:
The most developed infrastructure for living is offered in District XIII.
There are very few new buildings in the historical center (V – seventh districts), mainly old houses of the late XIX – early XX century with spacious apartments, high ceilings, monograms and stucco are represented in this market.
Before the pandemic, the profitability of renting apartments in these areas was about 10% per annum (about 7-8% after paying for the services of the management company). At that time, the annual workload was at least 85%. Now, when there are few tourists, it is too early to count on these figures, but it is expected that in the near future, when the world becomes more mobile, everything will return to the previous indicators.
Now it is still the most profitable to invest in the real estate of the historical center. Rental is also in demand in District XIII, especially in the Riverside and Marina Part zones. But residential areas, even prestigious ones (District II, District XII), investors choose less often.
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