Housing and expenses

2.5

The government's dubious, politically motivated programme of reducing overheads notwithstanding, housing costs are rising. The housing rental sector is weak, with an expressed preference on the part of Hungarians to live in their own homes as opposed to rented property. The quantity of social rental housing is limited, while the quality of the stock is gradually deteriorating. An astounding number of people live in flats either overcrowded or in a poor condition.

2.5

Bad housing conditions

Three-quarters of Hungarians live in overcrowded apartment and about a quarter of them live in apartments in a poor condition.

2.0

Tenement situation

Hungarians have traditionally been attached to their real estate; once they went through all the trouble of buying or building it, they are reluctant to let go. In many regions of the country, mainly in the villages, these properties are equally not worth enough to be able to buy another property elsewhere in the country. The real estate market is not dynamic enough. Rental housing and social housing is scarce. As a result, the labour market is rather inelastic, as people do not want to move in the vicinity of new jobs, nor can they.

3.0

Housing cost burden

The proportion of those who spend more than 40 percent of their total disposable income on housing expenses increased to 13.5 percent between 2008 and 2012, representing a 1.9 percentage point increase. The ratio is above both the EU average of 11.1 percent and the regional average value of 11.9 percent.