Originally Budapest had 10 districts after coming into existence upon the unification of the three cities in 1873. On 1 January 1950 Budapest was united with several neighboring towns and the number of its districts was raised to 22. At that time there were changes both in the order of districts and in their sizes. Now there are 23 districts, 6 in Buda, 16 in Pest and 1 on Csepel island between them. Each district can be associated with one or more city parts named after former towns within Budapest. In 1994, one of the former villages left district XX and the new district XXIII was born.
District IV • Near Váci út, the “Office Corridor”, giving great rental potential
• Easy access to city center by public transport, with many locals moving to this area, due to lower prices, which allows for more growth once demands increases
• Walking distance to new leisure marina
• Schools, markets, shops and leisure facilities
• Good public transport facilities
An example of properties in this district:
Karolyi Gardens
District V • Known as the Bank District, the area houses most bank headquarters, Parliament building and most ministry buildings
• One of the city’s most prestigious and expensive areas, Budapest’s answer to Mayfair, cost of property is slightly higher but so is the projected rental return
• The area houses some of the finest classical buildings, such as the Basilica, the Four Seasons and Kempinsky hotel
• Main Deak Square, junction of three metro lines
• Property in an exclusive area like this will never loose its value and will grow as Budapest is growing.
An example of properties in this district:
Garibaldi 4
District VI • The cultural hub of Budapest.
• Downtown area, with Andrassy Avenue, the “Champs Élysées of Budapest”, a World Heritage Site by the Unesco
• Other landmark monuments, like the Opera House and Ballet Institute
• The area houses most of the embassies and government buildings
• Good potential for short-term rentals as well as high-class long term lets
• Widest choice of restaurants, cafes, museums, theatres and other leisure centers
• Area still boasts very good growth
An example of properties in this district:
Andrássy Palace
District VII • Close to downtown District 6 and near the Keleti Railway station. Good access to red and yellow metro lines
• Trendy, central area with lower prices than V or VI and good growth
• Near Veterinary and Medical University, increasing (foreign)student rental demand
• Good rental potential for corporate tenants and embassies officers
An example of properties in this district:
Regent Homes
Eszter House
District VIII• The most up-and-coming area in Budapest, with some of the largest redevelopment plans in Europe being currently carried out
• Current low prices leave plenty of room for and a high probability of massive price increases over the next few years
• Houses a large number of universities, including the renowned Semmelweis Medical University, together with hospitals and clinics, high demand for student rental
• Wide range of public transport facilities; new metro line Number 4. Keleti Railway Station
• New Arena Plaza Shopping Mall, the largest in Central Europe has just been opened in district VIII, helping to upgrade the area
An example of properties in this district:
Pikkolo Apartments
Park Residences
District IX
• Trendy district under redevelopment, with many areas already rejuvenated
• Reasonable prices for centrally located property with very strong rental and growth potential
• Many large international companies such as Vodafone, Lufthansa and IBM are moving into district IX
• Houses the new Budapest Exhibitions Centre and the University of Economics
• Ample pedestrian areas with the widest range of restaurants and trendy cafes.
• The latest cultural and corporate hub in downtown Budapest, housing the New National Theatre and the Arts Centre
An example of properties in this district:
Mill Lofts
Castrum House
District XIII • Large numbers of the Hungarian middle-class living in this district
• Also referred to as the ‘Docklands of Budapest’ with all the same potential and investment going in
• Right next to the Danube River with spectacular views onto Margaret Island
• Houses huge shopping malls like West-end City Centre, Duna Plaza Shopping Mall
• Vaci út, the “Office Corridor” runs along District XIII, giving great corporate rental potential
• Blue metro line and Westend Railway Station providing good accessibility
An example of properties in this district:
Atrium
Prestige Towers
Pearl Gardens
Market Research
Record lease in the Budapest office market in Q4 2007 - Budapest Research Forum
Monday, January 28, 2008 12:20:00 PM
The Budapest office market over the last three months of 2007 witnessed high activity resulting in a record year in terms of office demand with more than 325,000 sqm leased area. 18 lease transactions were concluded in the fourth quarter above 1,000 sqm, showed the fourth-quarter report released by the Budapest Research Forum (CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ, and Jones Lang LaSalle) on Monday.
Among the largest were the Nokia Siemens Networks' deal (14,100 sqm) in City Gate, ELLA/AXA have signed in BSR Center (7,420 sqm), Nokia moved into Studium (5,825 sqm) and a state authority (NIVE) upgraded to modern offices in Lotar Office Building (5,150 sqm). A total of 92,400 sqm office space was taken up in Q4 2007. Nearly half of this total was realised in the Central sub-market, while 25% included lease expansions and renewals.
Five new office buildings were completed during the quarter: the first two phases of Gateway Office Garden (21,000 sqm) that was occupied by the Hungarian Post, GRT Office Garden (15,160 sqm) in the 11th district, first phase of Skanska's Népliget Center (8,600 sqm), Merkúr Palota (6,500 sqm) in district 6 and Vígadó Offices (4,500 sqm) at Vörösmarty square.
With the year-end, BRF has reviewed the modern office stock in Budapest and several corrections were necessary, furthermore some buildings were excluded due to changes in their status. As a result of the above the total amount of stock was 1,855,900 sqm by 31 December 2007 from that 193,100 sqm was delivered to the market during the last year.
(Portfolio.hu Online Financial Journal)
Due to the aggregate alterations, the vacancy rate slightly increased to 12.2% compared to last quarter's figure, but it reached a lower level than at the end of 2006 (12.8%). The majority of the vacant office space (58%) was offered in Non- Central locations, where half of the stock is located.
Raiffeisen plans EUR 150 m real estate project in Budapest
Monday, 28, January 2008 12:39:00 PM
Austrian real estate company Raiffeisen evolution is planning to embark on a project with an estimated worth of over EUR 150 million in Budapest, near the recently opened Arena Plaza, Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság has reported on Monday.
Raiffeisen evolution has recently bought a 23,000-sqm plot between Kerepesi street and Stróbl Alajos street for EUR 15 m.
Plans include the construction of an office building (Kerepesi street front), as well as a three-star hotel and on the back of the plot a residential building, both at a later date.
Construction is expected to be concluded by 2011, and this year RE will try to finish all the blueprints and obtain the necessary permits.
Chart and table (below) from Raiffeisen evolution
Raiffeisen evolution Raiffeisen evolution project development GmbH is a real estate company operating in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe with its headquarters in Vienna. Its portfolio includes primarily residential and office buildings, but also hotels, shopping and retail centres as well as mixed-use objects.
Since its founding in July 2003, Raiffeisen evolution has completed 35 projects with a value of about EUR 455 m and a floor space of more than 340,000 sqm in all target markets. The total investment value of all projects handled by Raiffeisen evolution currently amounts to more than EUR 1.6 bn.
Already in the first full fiscal year the performance could be increased by 86%, compared to the short fiscal year 2003. In 2005, the operating performance was 216% higher than in 2004. In 2006, the increase amounted to 14%. The forecast for 2007 again shows a significant rise in performance by around 27%.
The group’s annual transaction volume is targeted between EUR 300 m and EUR 350 m.
At present, the total volume of the 43 projects handled amounts to more than EUR 1.6 bn in the business areas of residential and commercial real estate, with a total floor space of cc 1 bn square meters.
About 85% of this total investment volume is accounted for by the CEE region. More than 950,000 sqm of gross floor space is being developed there, including innovative residential projects as well as ultra-modern Class A office buildings and multifunctional centres.
(Portfolio.hu Online Financial Journal)
Real estate investments down
29 Jan 2008
bbj.hu
The current financial upheaval had a strong impact on the European real estate market: in the last quarter of 2007, real estate investments fell back by 30%, the UK sustaining the biggest hit, stated property consultancy CBRE in its latest research.
The overall tendency remained stable in real estate investment, and there was even a slight growth if the whole year is considered, from €230 million ($339.4 million) in 2006 to €236 million ($348.3 million) in 2007. The restrictions in the monetary sector will influence the H1 of 2008, but well-capitalized investors like German and some sovereign open-end funds will strengthen their European activity. In the CEE region, the total volume of real estate investments of €12.5 billion ($18.4 billion) has not changed, but while Russia and Poland has fallen back, the Czech Republic (with a 70% growth to €2.8 billion) and Hungary (with a 150% growth to €1.9 billion) racketed. In case of stock investment value between 2000 and 2007, Poland leads the list with €12.3 billion ($18.15 billion), followed by the Czechs (€7.9 billion) and Hungary (€5.5 billion), while Russia is only the fourth with €4.5 billion. (Napi Gazdaság)
Doug Hardman: I think this region is a less mature market and it is very interesting to see how Central and Eastern Europe is behaving during the credit crunch compared to more sophisticated markets in Western-Europe, particularly the UK. In London - one of the most dynamic and sophisticated markets in the world - the re-pricing was much quicker and more dramatic than in the CEE markets.
