The domestic housing industry has had a weak year in 2025, but the outlook is good. According to Attila Juhász, president of Újház Zrt., a trading network for building materials, the number of new buildings completed in 2025 could even double in 2026, Világgazdaság reports.
The expert said that the domestic construction industry did not have a strong year in 2025: there was a lack of orders related to government and corporate investments on the market, and the domestic housing and building materials market also did not perform well. “Based on our current knowledge, a maximum of 12,000 newly built homes were completed, that is the lowest figure in the last eight years,” said Attila Juhász.
However, the good news is that an upturn is clearly expected for 2026. Based on the building permits issued and the large residential complex development projects that have been started, it can be assumed that the number of residential construction investments undertaken could reach 25,000 in the new year,”
explained the president, pointing out that although this figure is not set in stone, it is certain that domestic micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the housing industry will receive significantly more orders than in previous years.
He believes that the change is clearly attributable to the loan from the Otthon Start (“Home Start”) program and, to a lesser extent, to other existing government subsidies.
Posters advertising the Otthon Start program. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
Attila Juhász noted that the building materials industry and building materials trade are also much better prepared for fluctuations in demand today, with capacity utilization far from its peak, meaning that the upcoming upturn will not be accompanied by significant price increases as sufficient high-quality building materials are available.
Prices for building materials have remained essentially unchanged for two years and have not risen in 2025 either, despite sales growth of around 10 percent,
even though there has been considerable pressure on the sector on the cost side. Wages, tolls, fuel costs and other charges have risen significantly, but due to fierce competition, buyers have felt virtually no impact, the expert points out.
Debrecen.Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
In order to provide building material manufacturers and distributors with funds for investments to increase efficiency, prices could rise by at least the amount of the new burdens, which means that prices on the building materials market are likely to rise in line with inflation. However, due to fierce competition, price increases beyond this level are not expected, and despite the boom in residential construction, no supply bottlenecks are forecast, the president said in his analysis.
The expert explained that the granting of housing loans in Hungary rose spectacularly in the last quarter as a result of the loan from the Otthon Start program.
This is not yet reflected in the construction data for 2025; visible results are more likely to be seen in spring 2026.
In 2026, construction could begin on up to 25,000 new homes, and many homes and residential buildings could be renovated and their energy efficiency class improved.
All of this could lead to a noticeable upturn for small and medium-sized enterprises in the housing industry, although a significant increase in building material prices is not expected, Attila Juhász concluded.
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