The number of real estate properties bought by foreigners in the northern and eastern counties of Hungary is insignificant. As against earlier experiences, a new element is that more and more foreigners are seeking and buying old peasant homes and holiday homes in smaller villages located 10-15 kilometres from Lake Balaton. These old houses are frequently refurbished in their former, period style, in a high-standard manner, but there have been examples of new owners demolishing the buildings, and replacing them with completely new ones. Some foreigners want to buy properties with the intent of settling in Hungary, however, most German and Austrian buyers want to have properties in Hungary for recreation and holiday aims, or because of their friendship with Hungarians. In Budapest, foreigners mainly seek properties in the 2nd, 3rd, 11th and 12th districts, located on the Buda side of the Danube river and considered as elegant, fashionable residential areas, and also in central parts on the Pest side.
Foreigners show little interest for suburban properties around the capital.
Many persons of Hungarian nationality, or Hungarian origin wish to acquire properties in the capital. There are numerous examples of foreign companies based in Budapest buying homes for their executives, in other words, this is still proving to be a good investment. Last year, the head of the Metropolitan Public Administration Office introduced a stricter system for granting purchase permits to foreigners in the capital, which instigated a heated debate. This was more than 10pc of the requests submitted in Budapest. The official said the rise in the number of rejected requests was due to the fact that foreigners frequently wanted to acquire proprietary rights of garden properties termed as arable land, or buildings found on protected natural areas.