Budapest’s rental market did not simply become cheaper in autumn 2026. The KSH–ingatlan.com rent index slipped by 0.1% month on month in September, yet remained 5.3% higher year on year. At the same time, ingatlan.com reported that Budapest’s advertised rental supply was 12% smaller than a year earlier in early October. The more useful story is one of cooling, divergence and shrinking choice: Buda and Pest moved in different directions, and the available district-level rent figures are not all from the same month. Here is what the latest evidence says about Districts V, VI, VII, VIII, XI and XIII, and what landlords should take from it.
Budapest’s summer rent rise came to a halt in September
The citywide KSH–ingatlan.com asking-rent index rose by 1.7% month on month in July and 0.9% in August, before easing by 0.1% in September. Annual growth moved in the opposite direction, from 5.0% in July to 5.2% in August and 5.3% in September. In other words, the summer acceleration ran out of steam, but asking rents were still above their year-earlier level. The latest available official release at the time of drafting is the September 2026 KSH–ingatlan.com rent index.
The index is based on advertised rents and adjusts for changes in the mix of properties listed. It is a useful measure of market direction, not a record of the final rent agreed in every signed lease. A citywide median asking rent in forints is a different statistic again. Those measures can tell complementary parts of the story, but they should not be treated as interchangeable.
Buda and Pest moved in different directions
The citywide figure masks a clear split between district groups. In September, rents in the Buda Hills group rose 2.5% month on month, while the other Buda districts increased by 0.3%. On the Pest side, the inner districts fell 0.4%, transitional districts declined 0.8%, and outer districts were down 0.5%, according to KSH.
These are district-group index movements, not individual-district changes. Districts V, VI, VII and VIII sit within the inner Pest group; District XI belongs to the other Buda group; and District XIII is part of transitional Pest. That makes the group figures useful context, but they do not establish that every property in a given district followed the same path. For example, the September index does not show that District XI rents rose by 0.3% on their own, nor does the transitional-Pest figure prove the exact change in District XIII.
What is happening in Districts V, VI, VII, VIII, XI and XIII?
Comparable Q2 and Q3 district-level average asking rents are not published on a consistent basis for all six areas. The forint amounts below are therefore asking-rent medians from specific market snapshots, not quarterly averages. Their dates differ, so use them to understand the reported price level, not as a perfectly aligned league table.
District V: a high price level, not a proven growth story
In early October, the median asking rent for privately advertised rental homes in District V was HUF 350,000 per month. The citywide median was HUF 260,000. That places District V among Budapest’s most expensive rental areas, but it does not prove that rents there were rising faster than elsewhere. The October ingatlan.com market update is best read as a price-level snapshot. In Belváros or Lipótváros, the rent a specific apartment can achieve will still depend on its size, condition, layout and direct competition, not only on its district label.
District VI: a lower median alongside a distinctive local rule
District VI’s median asking rent moved from HUF 290,000 in early August to HUF 280,000 in early September, a month-on-month difference of about 3.4%. Terézváros’ restrictions on short-term accommodation services, in effect from 1 January 2026, are relevant local context, but the change in the median cannot be attributed to the rule alone. Timing is not proof of causation. For a wider look at the regulatory backdrop and the choice between short- and long-term letting, see Tower’s article on moving from Airbnb to long-term rental in Budapest.
District VII: a useful inner-city reference point
The early-August market snapshot put District VII’s median asking rent at HUF 249,000 per month. The research did not identify a later, methodologically comparable district snapshot, so this figure cannot support a precise September or Q3 price change. District VII is part of the inner Pest group, whose September index fell 0.4% month on month. That offers useful context for Erzsébetváros, but it is not a District VII-specific result. The figure comes from the summer rental-market update by ingatlan.com.
District VIII: a short-term correction in the asking-rent median
District VIII’s median asking rent fell from HUF 240,000 in early August to HUF 229,000 in early September, a difference of roughly 4.6%. That is a notable movement in the portal snapshot, but one month does not establish a lasting downward trend. The Palotanegyed and Corvin-area markets also contain different property types and conditions; a district median cannot tell an owner what a particular apartment will achieve. The comparison is reported in ingatlan.com’s September update.
District XI: the wider Buda group remained firmer
District XI’s early-August median asking rent was HUF 285,000 per month. The district is included in KSH’s “other Buda” group, which rose 0.3% month on month in September. The broader group therefore remained firmer than the Pest groups that month, but the figure does not prove an independent September increase in District XI. Around Bartók Béla út and elsewhere in the district, a property’s own features and competing listings still matter. The August median comes from ingatlan.com’s summer snapshot.
District XIII: the summer momentum cooled by September
District XIII’s median asking rent was HUF 270,000 per month in early August. The transitional Pest group, which includes the district, rose in July and August before falling 0.8% month on month in September. There is no matching September District XIII median in the research, so the group movement should not be presented as the district’s own price change. Újlipótváros and the Váci út area are not a single uniform market either: building quality, layout and amenities can all affect how a listing competes. The August median is from the ingatlan.com rental-market update.
Why is Budapest’s rental market cooling?
The summer letting season still showed up in July and August, but that seasonal lift had faded by autumn. In its summer analysis, ingatlan.com described the post-admissions rental rush as more subdued than in previous years, with stronger competition among landlords limiting their ability to push asking rents higher.
The wider housing market may also affect both rental demand and future supply. The MNB’s May 2026 Housing Market Report says that after the Otthon Start Programme launched, the share of first-time buyers in Budapest increased while investment purchases declined. If fewer investors buy homes specifically to let, the future pipeline of privately owned long-term rentals may narrow. At the same time, some would-be renters may choose to buy instead. The programme can therefore affect both sides of the rental market; it is not a simple one-way explanation for a particular month’s rent movement.
Short-term rental rules add a distinct local factor in District VI. Terézváros’ municipal information on the rules effective from January 2026 is the relevant local reference. The coincidence between the rule and a lower asking-rent median does not establish that the regulation caused the price movement; seasonality, listing mix and wider market conditions also matter.
Falling rents do not necessarily mean more choice
According to ingatlan.com, slightly more than 9,000 Budapest rental homes were listed in early October. That was 12% fewer than a year earlier and 6.9% below the August level. Budapest’s median asking rent remained HUF 260,000 per month, unchanged from a year before. The snapshot therefore combines a stable citywide median with a noticeably smaller selection of advertised homes.
There is no contradiction between a 5.3% annual increase in the KSH–ingatlan.com index and an unchanged portal median. One is a quality-adjusted index; the other is the median asking rent in a particular listing snapshot. For renters, the practical lesson is to compare more than the headline monthly rent: property condition, total monthly costs and available alternatives all affect value. Public sources do not provide a consistent 2026 district-level measure of average listing time, so there is no sound basis for claiming that a typical apartment rents within a particular number of days.
What does this mean for Budapest landlords?
A Budapest-wide average or district median is not enough to price an individual home. The HUF 350,000 snapshot in District V and HUF 229,000 in District VIII describe different price levels, but even within one district, size, condition, layout, furnishing and nearby competition can shift the realistic asking rent. Automatically carrying forward a spring or 2025 price is a weak strategy when the market has cooled and districts are moving apart. Review direct alternatives and the response to the listing instead.
Not sure what rent your Budapest apartment can realistically achieve in the current market? Tower’s letting service can help assess the property’s district, condition and current competition. For ongoing support beyond finding a tenant, explore Tower’s property management services for landlords
Key data sources: KSH–ingatlan.com, September 2026; ingatlan.com, October supply and median snapshot; MNB, Housing Market Report, May 2026.
