Construction output in Hungary has been growing for the sixth month in a row
EnglishSince June, the output of the construction industry has been higher every month than in the previous month; in November it rose by 12.1 percent from the previous month, so the construction industry has been recovering from the crisis caused by the pandemic in the last six months, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology informed Hungarian News Agency MTI.
According to the ministry statement, after the downturn in the spring the correction has already started, with an increase of 27.3 percent in the construction output by November compared to the low point in May.
In November 2020, the buildings segment grew by 7.7 percent, while the civil engineering segment increased by 2.2 percent on an annual basis.
Another positive sign is that the volume of new contracts grew by 55.5 percent, and the total volume of orders at the end of November was 2.7 percent higher than a year earlier.
In the first three quarters of last year, 12,876 new homes were built, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year. With the exception of Budapest, the number of occupancy certificates issued increased dynamically throughout the whole country in the first nine months, as the 5 percent VAT rate can be applied until the end of 2023to projects with a valid building permit before 1 November 2018, and in case of real estate projects that received a building permit after 1 November 2018, the full amount of the purchase price may have been paid as a deposit by the end of 2019 due to the lower VAT rate.
There are reasons for optimism for the next period as EU funds, corporate and state investments projects, investment subsidies within the Economy Protection Action Plan, as well as low-interest corporate investment loans all provide favourable opportunities. The home construction and renovation market may also be boosted by the subsidies available for the residential property market since January 1 (5% VAT rate on new residential properties, reclaimable VAT and exemption from stamp duty in case of using home creation subsidy CSOK, subsidy for loft conversions, subsidies and loans for home renovations), according to the statement by the ministry .
