Jos Deuling,  Saturday, 17 September 2016



In Budapest, you can rent or buy an apartment for an excellent price. The prices are very low compared with the UK. But you have to watch out for bargains. If an apartment is cheap then it is often with good reason:

The apartment is old and not renovated. All sorts of hidden defects which can be costly to repair. The outside may look quite nice but if the water pipe burst then you have a big problem.
The apartment is in a bad neighborhood. Even near the city center, there are streets where you can't walk savely at night.
If you buy an apartment in an entertainment district, you’re risking to stay awake at night through the noise of drunk people partying, talking and shouting.

The western part of Budapest, the Buda area, is much more pleasant to live in and is reasonably close to the center of town. Housing prices are somewhat higher in Buda.

If you search in Budapest for an apartment, hire a local broker. A local agent knows the market, knows where you can live quietly and where you don’t have to watch out for pickpockets. So don’t think, after a glance at the map, that a district is conveniently close to the center and that you can buy or rent an apartment in that area. If you want to have a beautiful house in a safe neighborhood, at some distance from the center and with good public transport, then you better not look for homes that cost less than 300,000 ft / m2 or where the rent under the 2,500 ft / m 2. In the central part of Budapest and throughout Buda you have to pay 350.000 ft / m2 for a quality home. But it also depends on your demands.