Residency through real estate

In Hungarian, area is always given in square meters (sqm, m2, or m2). The size of the floor space, the garden, or even the entire plot will most probably be indicated in square meters. 1 square meter is around 11 square feet. You can find a simple calculator here.

In Hungarian, the ground floor is called “földszint” (literally “ground floor”). The first floor is one floor up from that. The Hungarian word “emelet” means upper floor, so if an apartment building is “10 emeletes”, it will normally have 10 floors above the ground floor.

The ground floor can be a few steps above or below the level of the street, but the difference cannot be a full level. Sometimes the lowest floor of a building will be several steps above ground – typically if the street is on a slope. In that case, the ground floor may be called “magasföldszint”, which might be translated as high or raised ground floor.

“Félemelet” literally translates to “half floor”, although sometimes it is also called a mezzanine. You will typically find these in houses built before World War II. Originally, a half floor held rooms that belonged to stores that operated on the street level of a house, but later the designation was used to add extra levels to a house. For example, if someone got a permit to build a house with 3 upper floors, they could build a house of up to 6 floors above the ground floor by adding half floors between official floors.

Fun fact: In some old houses of Pest, you will get a ground floor, a raised ground floor, and a half floor; the “first” floor will come only above that.

“Szuterén” is basically an apartment in the basement, although it has still windows. Sometimes it is called a “félszuterén” (meaning “half subterranean”) to distinguish from levels fully below ground – although actual living spaces are rarely created there.

In the U.S., it is typical to indicate the number of bedrooms on a listing. In Hungary, you will see the number of total rooms, which will include e.g. the living room, the library, or the game room, but exclude wet rooms like the kitchen, the bathroom, or the laundry room.

A proper room in a modern building cannot be smaller than 8sqm (86sqft), but especially in old houses, you will see the designation “félszoba” (meaning “half a room”). This denotes rooms that are between 6-8sqm, but they still have heating and windows. A room under 8sqm without heating or windows is called an “alkóv” (alcove), and they are typically used as bedrooms.

In Hungary, the kitchen is traditionally a separate room, but over the last 30 years, open plan kitchens have become more widespread too. They are called “amerikai konyha”, since the design originates from the U.S.

In apartment buildings, many homes have balconies (“erkély”), the floor space of which is included in the listing. Sometimes you get a proper, open balcony which protrudes from the building, but sometimes the balcony is basically a recess in the façade (in which case it is also called a “loggia”). Both types may be covered (usually glassed over), in which case we talk about a “built-in balcony” (“beépített erkély”).

Sometimes an apartment only has a “French balcony” (“francia erkély”), which is nothing more than a narrow ledge with a barrier in front of a door.

Many Hungarian homes have “távfűtés” (central heating), meaning that they do not have a boiler of their own; water for the heaters and the wall taps are heated at a separate facility, and distributed to the entire neighborhood from there, which is considered more cost-effective and convenient.

If a home has its own boiler, it is often called a “cirkó”, short for the circulation system built just for the home. Boilers are typically powered by gas or electricity.

When you buy real estate in Hungary, it will not be typically furnished or equipped. However, “built in” furniture and equipment cannot be removed after the sale. While Hungary is not big on walk-in closets, many homes have built in wardrobes (“beépített szekrény”), which are part of the design. Air-conditioning, heaters, and water features (shower, bathtub, sinks, toilets) usually stay.

Things that were custom-made for the home are typically included, like kitchen cabinets or specific pieces of furniture. In houses with high ceilings, sometimes there is a loft (“galéria”) to allow a more efficient use of space – that will usually stay too.

If you are not sure what stays and what goes after a viewing, make sure to ask.

Budapest districts are traditionally numbered with Roman numerals, although the use of Arabic numerals is getting more and more widespread, especially in English.

Fun fact: For property listings, it is common to list only the ZIP code and not the full address because a ZIP code can already tell you the approximate location. Each Hungarian ZIP code has 4 digits. Budapest ZIP codes always start with a “1”, and the next two digits tell you the district. For example, the ZIP code 1117 tells you that the property is located in Budapest, in District 11.

There are various types of apartment complexes in Hungary, typically depending on when they were built. Typical types of apartment complexes are:

• Bérház, bérpalota, gangos ház
• Panelház
• Lakópark

In the second half of the 19^th century and the first half of the 20^th century, many apartment building were built in Pest for the workers (“bérház”) and for the bourgeoisie (“bérpalota”). They are made of bricks, and typically have high ceilings (3-5m). Apartments can be reached through open corridors that run on the inner façade of the house (called a “gang” as a German loanword), above a paved inner courtyard. Since most of these buildings are in downtown Budapest, buying an old apartment and renovating it can be an excellent investment.

Between the 1960s and 1990s, many apartment complexes were built from prefabricated concrete blocks (called “panel” in Hungarian). In Budapest and other cities, there are entire panel neighborhoods, which are nevertheless walkable areas with all kinds of facilities (schools, shops, clinics, parks) thanks to conscious urban planning. When buying such an apartment, the experience of living there will depend a lot on the neighbors, because concrete walls conduct sound unfortunately well.

Apartment complexes are still being built, with modern technology, up to modern standards. New ones are typically in the outer districts of Budapest or just outside the city limits, although not necessarily: the Helpers Office is located in Budapart, which is a new housing development with various apartment complexes near the city center.

Different types of lands allow for different use, with different buildability (meaning that there will be a limit on how much of the land you can use for building on it) and various additional expectations.

Important: The type of land is always shown on the title deed and it is legally binding. This official classification should be checked before purchase to see if it matches current appearance and intended use.

• Belterület (urban land): land within the city limits where people live.
• Külterület (outskirts): land within the city limits that is used for other purposes such as agriculture, industrial complexes, mines, waste management facilities, or simply as uncultivated lands.

• Agricultural land: land used for agriculture, usually in the outskirts of towns with a designated purpose, such as arable land, pasture, orchard, vineyard, garden, or forest. Acquiring agricultural land is heavily restricted, and it is not available at all to natural persons who are not EEA nationals.
• Zártkert (enclosed garden): agricultural land that was intended to be cultivated by natural person owners rather than on the industrial scale. It is an obsolete concept from the socialist era. Currently, such plots often have hobby gardens with weekend homes, sometimes without water and electricity. Even if they have fully functional houses on them, the same strict regulations apply to them as to agricultural land. Learn more here.
• Land withdrawn from cultivation (“művelés alól kivont terület”): agricultural land can be withdrawn from cultivation so it can be repurposed, but the process is lengthy and complicated. If you invest in land that is already withdrawn from cultivation, it will be much easier to repurpose it than if you had to start the process from scratch.
• Holiday property: A property legally classified as a holiday home or located in a designated holiday resort area. It is intended for recreational use rather than permanent residence, and different regulations or financing options may apply compared to residential properties.
• Residential property: land allocated to residential buildings.