When Anik and her husband wanted to buy a vacation home near Lake Balaton in central Hungary, they found that it was very difficult to find even an ordinary rural property within their budget.

That was in 2022, when Woods described the situation as being at the "peak of a real estate boom during the pandemic period." Hungarians flocked to the shores and highlands surrounding Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, driving up housing prices.

The couple expanded their search range and eventually purchased an old winery near Sü meg, located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) north of the lake in the Balaton Highlands, which was once used for storing and pressing grapes.

Several years later, housing prices remained high. According to data from the real estate agency Otthon Centrum, in 2025, the average transaction price of vacation homes around Lake Balaton reached 744,000 Hungarian forints (approximately 2,303 US dollars) per square meter, which is almost four times higher than the price of less than 200,000 forints per square meter in 2018.

Why Lake Balaton?

Vacations along the nearly 200-kilometer lakeshore around Lake Balaton have been popular among Hungarians for generations. During the communist period from 1949 to 1989, international travel was strictly restricted, and this place became the ultimate vacation destination for the working class. Unions provided substantial subsidies and affordable holiday accommodations for their members and their families.

Since Hungary is an inland country, this lake is sometimes referred to as the country's "inland sea." It is nearly 80 kilometers long and up to about 14 kilometers wide at its widest point. Balatonfüred is one of the most popular holiday towns, and it takes about an hour and a half to drive there from Budapest.

The south coast is famous for its family-friendly beaches, while parts of the north coast have developed into what some people call "the Hamptons of Hungary." Woods, who operates the website How To Hungary, states that this picturesque northern coastal area is highly sought after for its "expensive second homes, excellent restaurants, vineyards, sailing activities, and recognizable summer social scenes."

Head to the peninsula located on the north shore of the lake, Tihany. According to a listing on Sotheby's website in September, the price of an apartment with three bedrooms and three bathrooms could be as high as 2.45 million euros (approximately 2.78 million US dollars). Otthon Centrum analyst Gá bor So ó ki-T ó th stated that this area is one of the most expensive places in Hungary for purchasing vacation properties, with prices even exceeding those of the capital city, Budapest.

Sotheby describes the luxury villas around Lake Balaton as "an extremely attractive investment opportunity," stating that these "luxurious" estates can usually be purchased at a fraction of the cost of similar properties in the more mature, albeit less unique, European luxury markets.

Project Stagnation

However, the situation is not one-sided. According to the data from Otthon Centrum, the average transaction price of vacation homes around Lake Balaton is currently around 712,000 Hungarian forints per square meter, which is a 4.3% decrease from last year, and prices are falling from their peak in 2025.

So ó ki-T ó th indicates that the scarcity of lakeside and panoramic plots, along with the increase in high-end development projects in towns such as Balatonföld and other lakeside areas, is driving up prices; however, higher financing costs and the continuous increase in new apartment supply are beginning to curb this trend.

The market environment is full of challenges, which has resulted in the high-end residential project Grand Balaton located in Balatonakarattya ( Balatonakarattya ) at the eastern end of the lake still not starting construction. This project is about an hour's drive from the center of Budapest.

The project covers an area of 25,000 square meters and is planned to accommodate 100 apartments, with prices ranging from 135 million to 419 million Hungarian forints each. It also comes with a garden, swimming pool, wellness and fitness areas, as well as shared office spaces. The architectural design is below the tree canopy line, and parking spaces are located underground, which means that the entire development project will essentially achieve a car-free environment.

Some plots of Grand Balaton have already been reserved, but the development director Gabor Kadas stated that it is still unclear when construction will begin. “We have all the necessary permits. As long as market conditions are favorable, we are ready to launch the project,” he said. Like in other regions of Europe, the Hungarian real estate market also exhibits cyclical patterns. “Currently, we are not on the sunny side of that cycle,” said Kadas.

Local Life

In August, the Hungarian government took action against two private luxury development projects surrounding the lake area, stating that it would terminate their national economic priority status and give local residents more say in the future. This statement comes from the speech of Á gnes Forsthoffer at Facebook. According to So ó ki-T ó th, this priority status allowed developers to bypass local regulatory planning. “I expect that due to the cancellation of this designation, some of these projects will be completely halted,” he said.

Gabriella Weisz, who has been operating in the real estate brokerage business for 15 years, said that some areas around Balatonfüred are like a "mini-Monaco," with four-star and five-star hotels, golf clubs, and activities such as horse riding. However, she noted that locals are being pushed out by rising housing prices. "The people living here have almost completely changed. They are more like families from Budapest – the husband is a lawyer; they move here with their children, while he returns to Budapest for work," said Weisz.

She divides her time between a small apartment in Budapest with her husband and their tavern by Lake Balaton. She says that the life of the locals in the lake region is quite different from the activities that attract wealthy tourists. Some areas are still more traditional. “People grow grapes, chop wood, take care of the land, and they also have to worry about the weather,” she says.