Budapest property, district guide Budapest Property info

If you haven't been to Budapest, or you have but you don't know the city well you may be a little confused about where to begin your search for a Budapest property Investment.

Having lived in the city for ten years I feel that I know the city quite well. So I decided to write this brief guide. I have focused on the key investment districts of Budapest.

Budapest District guide:

Budapest is a large, rambling city of 23 distinctly non-uniform districts, spread over a total area of over 200 square miles, making the city and its environs roughly five times the size of Paris’s 20 arrondissements.

Faced with such a daunting and varied sprawl of a city, it is essential to know exactly where to look, and why, when considering purchasing Budapest property. The district guide that follows therefore aims to remove the guesswork from the process of investing in such a city.

At Gateway Properties we are primarily, though by no means exclusively, focused on Pest’s inner city districts; these are areas of the city that we have intimate first hand knowledge of, as well as being the areas that we feel offer the most interesting and potentially lucrative property investments currently available.

Whilst this guide offers some idea of what to expect from the various listed districts, it should be noted that, as with any city, a simple district by district guide can gloss over the complexities of each area, and we must stress that whilst districts do tend to have clear defining characteristics, they are not necessarily exclusive characteristics; the fin de siècle architecture so dominant in the 5th district for instance, can also be found in the 8^th, 6^th, 7^th and 9^th districts, just as new builds can be found in all downtown districts.

Simply put, at their borders each district effortlessly bleeds into the next, with little to announce the change save a street sign. This is particularly important to know when selecting property for investment, not least as prices can vary wildly simply by virtue of which district each side of a given street falls, in spite of the fact that the property may be identical in construction and amenities on both sides.

This point is particularly worth remembering when considering property in the 8^th and 5^th districts for example - two districts that border each other, yet where prices can vary as much as 50% per square meter. One is synonymous with inner city elegance, the other with inner city grit; the truth however lies somewhere between and potential bargains can therefore be overlooked by buyers sticking rigidly to a pre-chosen district.

Notwithstanding the latter, this district guide merely attempts to showcase the principal features of each area, and to give an overview of the types of property available in each and why we feel that properties in these areas of Budapest constitute exciting investment opportunities.

If you have any questions about where to invest in Budapest, the buying process, mortgages In Hungary, or anything related to buying a property in Hungary please feel free to call me on one of the following numbers:

UK Tel:  0845 6046169

Hungary Tel:  00 361 374 0782

Alternatively contact me at our Budapest property enquiry page.  Just ask a question and I or an experienced member of staff will get back to you the same, or at the latest the next working day.

You may also find our Budapest property and Hungarian Property buyers guide useful.

Best wishes,
Richard Holmes,
Managing Director,
Gateway Properties Budapest 

5th District Budapest Property Guide

Budapest’s 5^th district is quite simply the beating heart of the city. The ‘Belváros’ (inner city) is one of the smallest of Budapest’s districts in area, but is undoubtedly the most important in terms of all round contribution to the country and economy - government, business, tourism and cultural life are all focused here and a 5th district address is a much sought after status symbol.

Nestling up to the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th districts to the east, the 13^th to the north and the 9^th to the south, this district is also bordered by the Danube to its western edge, offering stunning views across the water of the Castle District and Gellért Hill.

The 5^th is home to Miklós Ybl’s striking neo-gothic Hungarian Parliament building and the Basilica, many critical government ministries and most of the city’s five star luxury hotels. In addition it is also the location of the city’s premier outdoor shopping area, Váci utca and Vörösmarty tér, and is also the most accessible of all Budapest’s districts, with Deák Ferenc tér serving as the hub of Budapest’s metro system. 

And yet whilst it hums to the bustle of neighbourhood markets and restaurants and exists as Hungary’s Central Business District - modern glass and steel monuments to business jostle for space next to turn of the 20^th century Beaux Arts palaces – the 5^th also leads a double life as an oasis of calm right in the middle of the commotion of downtown Pest.

Off its main thoroughfares, the 5^th is typified by often sleepy residential streets, and hidden treasures such as the city’s main Serb Orthodox church dating from 1750, and at Károly kert, a Victorian style railed garden that would not look out of place in London’s Knightsbridge.

It is, therefore, no surprise that this district offers some of the best examples of what many consider the classic Budapest apartment – spacious, high ceiling flats with herringbone parquet floors and many original fixtures and fittings housed in some of the most opulent and lovingly maintained late 19^th century buildings in the city.

It is also no great surprise that real estate in this district is some of the most expensive in Budapest, but prices are a mere fraction of similar districts in Vienna, Berlin or Paris and as such the 5th offers the chance to own a home in one of the most beautiful and thriving areas of the city as well as being one of the safest, low risk high-end property investments available in Europe today

6th District Budapest Property Guide

The 6th district is the 2nd most central district in Budapest. Running through it is magnificent Andrássy út, often referred to as the Champs-Elysees of Budapest. This impressive boulevard is approximately four kilometers long and ends at the stunning Heroes Square. Running beneath Andrássy is continental Europe's oldest metro line. The yellow line was constructed in 1894 and has recently been renovated and restored to its former splendor.

Andrassy út is highly a prestigious location for offices, embassies, luxury shops, restaurants and apartments. Indeed many embassies are located on or just off Andrassy. Louis Vuitton recently also opened a store there too.

The 6th also contains the golden triangle. This part of the city is very central and the rental market here is very strong, and is thus popular with those investing in Budapest property.

The three roads Andrássy út, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky and Teréz Korut form the triangle. There are no fewer than five metro stops on sections of these that border the Golden Triangle. Also Liszt Ferenc tér, Budapest's vibrant pedestrian square, which is packed with classy bars, cafes and restaurants, is walkable within 2 to 10 minutes depending where your starting point is from within the triangle.

At the turn of the century, Gyula Krúdy described Király utca, lying on the brinks of Terézváros and Erzsébetváros, as “the most Pest-like street”.

This street was also the borderline of the ghetto set during the Arrow Cross Party administration in December 1944. In 1900, 70 % of the population in Király utca was Jewish.

One of the famous buildings of the street was the Gozsdu-yard that still stands and which has been reconstructed..It is a building complex of six yards

The Gozsdu-yard, was also an important commercial and business street. The street level of the 230 meter long passage was filled mainly with the stores of goldsmiths, jewelers and metal-workers.

West End City Centre, Central and Eastern Europe's largest shopping mall is also just on the other side of Teréz körút.

 

7th District Budapest Property Guide

 The 7th district, or Erzsébetváros (Elizabeth Town) to give it its full name is, after the 5th, the second smallest of Pest’s inner districts.

 

8th District Budapest Property Guide

 

The thriving 13th district is where the highest concentration of class 'A' office buildings are located. Running through the middle of this district is Váci út, other wise known as the office corridor. Here dozens of international companies are based, companies such as.

• General Electric
• Exxon Mobile
• KPMG
• Ernst & Young
• Diageo
• Dresdner Bank
• SAB Miller

The 13th is Budapest's main business and commercial centre.

West End City Centre can also be found here. This is the largest shopping mall in Central and Eastern Europe which houses many international retail brands, multi screen cinema complex, bars, restaurants etc.

The district is bordered by the Danube and 5th, 6th and 4th districts.

An event which will be a major boost to the Budapest property market in the 13th district is the recent announcement in December 2007 that the new "Hungarian Whitehall" will be constructed behind the beautiful Nyugati Railway station. A building, incidentally built by the same company who constructed the Eiffel tower. This new government district will house many government ministries and is due for completion in 2009. The announcement has already increased demand for residential property in the surrounding parts of the 13th and 6th districts.

Property developers often have more space to build residential buildings in Budapest’s 13th district. Larger plot sizes are more readily available here than they are in other key investment districts in the Budapest property market.  The main reason for this is that the 13th district was once one of the major industrial districts in Budapest. As heavy industry declined in Hungary, largely since the fall of communism in 1989, the factories and warehouses are no longer needed, and are instead replace by office and residential buildings.

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