K&H: more and more middle-aged people live in their own apartments

The launch of the Otthon Start Program has once again put housing decisions in the spotlight, especially for first-time home buyers. The K&H Secure Future Survey provides the background for this: the research has been tracking for years what types of properties middle-aged Hungarians live in, who owns the apartment, when they acquired the home, and what size of floor space they live on. The current results show that while the structure of housing conditions has not been radically restructured, the proportion of homeownership is steadily increasing, and households with higher incomes of more than 700 thousand forints – who account for 39% of those surveyed – typically live in newer and larger properties.

Proportion of homeownership is increasing, renting is mainly a urban phenomenon

According to the K&H Secure Future Survey, long-term trends among 30-59 year-olds show that the proportion of homeownership is increasing. In the third quarter of this year, it was 79 percent, which is the highest value in the history of the survey; in 2019, for example, this proportion was only 64 percent. Home ownership is particularly common among those in their forties and fifties: 73 percent of those in their thirties live in their own homes, 83 percent of those in their forties, and 81 percent of those in their fifties. At the same time, the proportion of those living in homes owned by their parents has decreased across the age groups: to 14, 9, and 3 percent, respectively.

Rented housing, as a home, is primarily common in large cities. According to the survey, 23 percent of respondents in Budapest and 17 percent in county seats live in rental properties, while only 5 percent in villages choose this form. As income rises, the proportion of households that live in home ownership increases. Among households with a lower income of less than 400 thousand forints per month, 70 percent live in their own property, among those with a medium income of less than 699 thousand forints per month, 81 percent live in their own home, and among those with a higher income of more than 700 thousand forints per month, 83 percent live in their own home. Where there are already children, 83 percent live in their own home, while for those without children, this ratio is 74 percent. Among those who are planning to buy a home, 68 percent already live in their own home, and 19 percent live in a rental property.

The type of residential property also strongly depends on the type of settlement. In villages, 88 percent of respondents live in a family house, while in Budapest this ratio is only 21 percent. Panel houses were mentioned most frequently in the capital and county seats, with a rate of 36 and 37 percent, respectively, while other, non-panel apartment buildings were specifically characteristic of the capital, with a frequency of 20 percent. In terms of income, semi-detached houses were mentioned mainly by high-income earners, with a rate of 12 percent, compared to 3–4 percent for the other two groups. Among those with medium-level education – without a degree – the existence of a family house is more common than average (65 percent), while among those with higher education the same rate is only 47 percent, while the mention of other, more urban housing types is higher than average. Where there are minor children, 64 percent live in a family house, while where there are none, the rate is 51 percent.

Newer and larger homes in younger and wealthier households

On average, people living in owner-occupied properties have purchased their current homes for 11 years, with 30 percent of respondents having acquired their current apartment or house in the past five years. There is a significant difference between age groups: 50 percent of people in their thirties bought their own homes in the past five years, 26 percent in their forties, and 15 percent in their fifties. Accordingly, the average time to purchase a home also differs significantly: 6 years for people in their thirties, 11 years for people in their forties, and 17 years for people in their fifties.

At the regional level, people in the central region have lived in their current homes for a shorter period of time than in other parts of the country: the average time to purchase a home here is 9 years, while in the east it is 11 years, and in the west it is 13 years. Those with lower education levels have lived in their current home for longer – an average of 12 years – while those with higher education levels have lived in their current home for 10 years. As income increases, the length of time households have lived in their current home decreases: for lower income levels it is 13 years, for middle income levels it is 12 years, and for higher income levels it is 10 years.

The average apartment size is 85 square meters, which is not