Monday, 14 September 2026
Hungary’s commercial property market gathered momentum during the first half of 2026, producing its best opening six months since 2021. Yet behind the improvement in transaction volumes lies an important change in the country’s investment landscape: Hungarian capital is still doing most of the buying.
Colliers estimates that commercial property transactions reached approximately €610 million during H1 2026, an increase of 26.7% compared with the same period last year. Cushman & Wakefield calculates a lower total of more than €507 million, reflecting differences in the transactions included by individual market advisers, but both point to a clear improvement in activity. Domestic investors accounted for roughly three-quarters of acquisitions. Colliers estimates the Hungarian share at 74%, while Cushman & Wakefield places it at 78%. The precise figures differ, but the message is consistent: Hungary’s property recovery is currently being financed predominantly from within the country.
That represents a significant structural shift from earlier investment cycles. Budapest was once much more dependent on international institutions, particularly investors from Western Europe. As foreign buyers became less active during the recent downturn, Hungarian property funds, institutions and private investors expanded their role. This domestic capital has helped maintain liquidity during a period when international investors were much more selective. It has also created a deeper local ownership base that is likely to remain influential even if foreign investment strengthens again.
There are already indications that international interest is beginning to recover. Data from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank show that domestic investors represented around 61% of Hungarian commercial property transactions in 2025, compared with approximately 73% in 2024. The reduction indicates that foreign capital increased its share last year after several years in which local buyers had become unusually dominant. The higher domestic share recorded again during H1 2026 does not necessarily reverse that trend. Hungary is a relatively small transaction market, where several large acquisitions can quickly alter the nationality breakdown. Instead, the figures suggest that the return of international capital is likely to be gradual and uneven.
Pricing may determine how quickly that process develops. Hungarian commercial property continues to provide considerably higher yields than equivalent prime assets in some neighbouring Central European markets. Colliers placed prime Budapest office yields at around 6.50% during H1, logistics at approximately 6.75% and shopping centres around 7%. Cushman & Wakefield estimates prime office yields slightly lower, at around 6.25%. For international investors comparing Budapest with cities such as Prague, that difference can translate into substantially higher income from a similarly priced property.
The additional return, however, reflects additional perceived risk. Hungary has spent recent years dealing with high inflation, expensive financing, currency volatility and weaker economic conditions. International institutions have also considered political and regulatory uncertainty and the relatively limited liquidity of the Hungarian investment market when deciding how much capital to allocate to the country. The issue is therefore not whether Budapest is cheaper than some competing markets. It is whether the price difference has become large enough to make the risks acceptable.
Conditions have improved in several areas during 2026. Hungarian government borrowing costs have declined from earlier highs, measures of sovereign risk have improved and the forint has strengthened against the euro. Financing conditions are also more supportive than during the most difficult stage of the interest-rate cycle. At the same time, commercial property values have adjusted. That combination is making Hungary more interesting to investors seeking higher returns. Buyers can enter the market at yields well above those available in several neighbouring capitals while some of the financial pressures that previously discouraged investment have eased.
The assets changing hands are equally revealing. According to Colliers, offices accounted for approximately 37.9% of investment during H1, making them the largest sector in its dataset. Retail represented around 32.9%, while industrial and logistics property accounted for approximately 18.5%. Cushman & Wakefield records a different order, with retail ahead of offices. The distinction is less important than the wider trend. Both sectors are attracting substantial investment despite having faced considerable uncertainty during the previous property cycle.
Office investment is particularly noteworthy. Hybrid working, rising vacancy and changing corporate requirements have forced investors to reconsider how office buildings should be valued. Older properties may require significant refurbishment, while companies increasingly favour modern, efficient buildings capable of meeting environmental standards and employee expectations. Yet offices represented a substantial proportion of Hungarian investment during H1. Transactions involving Capital Square and Millennium Tower I were among the deals contributing to activity.
Retail has also returned to the investment agenda. Árkád Szeged, Korzó Nyíregyháza and the Park Center portfolio were among properties changing ownership during the period. This suggests that investors are becoming willing to examine sectors that were previously difficult to sell, provided the acquisition price reflects the risks involved. A property does not have to be problem-free to attract capital. It needs to offer sufficient potential income relative to the cost of acquiring, financing and improving it.
That could become increasingly important as more international investors examine Hungary. The safest route into the market remains high-quality buildings with established occupiers, long leases and strong locations. These assets allow investors to benefit from Hungary’s comparatively high yields while reducing leasing and refurbishment risk. But some of the largest opportunities may eventually emerge among properties requiring active management.
Budapest contains ageing office buildings that need substantial investment to remain competitive. Some could be repositioned or converted to other uses. Shopping properties may require refurbishment or changes in tenant mix. Logistics assets need increasingly careful assessment as vacancy and new supply vary considerably between Budapest and regional industrial locations. These situations could attract investors willing to accept greater property risk in exchange for potentially higher returns.
Capital from neighbouring Central European countries may be particularly well suited to this part of the market. Czech investors have become major cross-border buyers across CEE. Knight Frank estimates that Czech capital deployed close to €2 billion around the region during H1 2026. Hungary represents one of several markets where those investors can compare acquisition yields with substantially more expensive opportunities at home.
This does not mean Czech buyers have become the dominant foreign force in Hungary. It does demonstrate that a large pool of regional capital exists within relatively close proximity to Budapest. Regional investors may also be comfortable with transactions that fall below the scale required by large global property funds. They understand Central European economic conditions, can manage assets locally and are familiar with the risks associated with investing across neighbouring markets.
Hungary could therefore see its international investment base rebuild from the region outward rather than through an immediate return of large Western institutions. That would create a different investment market from the one Hungary had before the recent downturn. Hungarian funds and institutions would remain major participants. Domestic private investors could continue acquiring smaller or management-intensive properties. Czech and other regional capital could pursue assets where Hungarian yields provide an attractive premium. Larger international institutions could then increase their exposure as liquidity and confidence improve.
The strength of domestic capital may actually help this process. Foreign investors considering Hungary need to know not only that they can buy a property but that somebody will eventually buy it from them. A strong Hungarian institutional market provides potential future purchasers and therefore improves exit liquidity. Regional investors broaden that pool further.
This makes transaction volume important for reasons beyond the headline number. Every completed acquisition provides evidence of pricing, establishes comparable values for lenders and investors and demonstrates that properties can still be traded. Hungary has not yet returned to the internationally dominated investment market of earlier cycles, nor is there evidence of a large-scale rush of global capital into Budapest. The current recovery is more measured.
Domestic investors remain responsible for most acquisitions, while foreign buyers are gradually reconsidering the market. Higher yields provide an incentive to look, but those returns must still compensate for economic, currency, political and liquidity risks. The second half of 2026 will reveal whether the balance begins to change.
Colliers believes annual investment could exceed €1.2 billion if transactions currently in progress are completed. Passing €1 billion would already represent an important step in Hungary’s recovery. But the nationality of those buyers may ultimately tell investors more than the final transaction volume.
If domestic capital continues to dominate, Hungary will have demonstrated that it now possesses a strong local investment market capable of supporting property liquidity independently. If the proportion of foreign and regional capital rises, the country will also have begun rebuilding the international buyer base that retreated during the downturn.
Either way, the Hungarian investment market entering the second half of 2026 looks very different from the one that entered the property correction. Capital has started moving again. The next question is who decides to follow it.
Source: CIJ.World Research & Analysis Team
