The prospect of Hungary adopting the euro is back in the discussion.
MNB Governor Mihály Varga said last week that Hungary should aim not for the fastest possible introduction, but for a successful one. Around four-fifths of Hungarians support adopting the euro, according to Varga, although only 22% believe the country is currently ready. He also said converting between the forint and euro costs the Hungarian economy around HUF 100–130 billion a year, while almost 59% of Hungarian exports go to euro-area countries.
Hungary does not currently have a target date for adopting the euro. Before joining, the forint would normally need to spend at least two years in the European Union's exchange-rate mechanism, which requires the currency to remain within an agreed range against the euro.
So what could eventual euro adoption mean for Hungarian property?
Buying Property Could Become Simpler
One of the clearest changes would be the removal of HUF/EUR currency risk.
For somebody buying a Budapest property with euros, there would no longer be a need to convert the purchase funds into forints or worry about the exchange rate moving before completion.
Prices would also become easier to compare directly with properties elsewhere in the euro area.
For international buyers already considering Budapest, that could make the purchasing decision simpler.
Could Mortgages Become Cheaper?
The experience of Lithuania suggests borrowing costs could benefit.
After Lithuania adopted the euro in 2015, the Bank of Lithuania estimated that euro adoption reduced interest rates for households and businesses by around 0.3–0.4 percentage points.
It calculated that 640,000 households with loans saved more than €30 million a year in interest. Over the first five years, households and businesses saved around €300 million. The central bank attributed about one-third of the broader decline in interest rates to euro adoption, with other factors including ECB monetary policy.
Croatia provides another recent example.
After joining the euro area in 2023, the Croatian National Bank said the country's risk premium fell and financing conditions improved. During the period of rapidly rising ECB rates, Croatian housing-loan rates increased less sharply than in most of the euro area, with new housing loans among the cheapest in the currency bloc.
That does not mean Hungarian mortgages would automatically become cheap. But it shows how successful euro adoption can reduce some of the financing costs associated with a separate currency and country risk.
Would Hungarian Property Prices Rise?
Not necessarily.
House prices have risen strongly in several countries after they adopted the euro, but the currency change cannot explain those increases on its own.
Hungary itself demonstrates why.
Between 2010 and the second quarter of 2025, Eurostat recorded house-price growth of 277% in Hungary, compared with 250% in Estonia, 202% in Lithuania, 162% in Latvia and 102% in Croatia. Hungary achieved the largest increase of the group without adopting the euro.
So I would not expect euro adoption itself to suddenly push Hungarian property prices higher.
What Would Matter Most?
Varga's message was that Hungary should focus on successful euro adoption rather than simply fast adoption.
I think the same principle applies to property.
The experience of countries that have already joined shows that the euro can remove currency risk, reduce transaction costs and, in some cases, contribute to lower borrowing costs.
But it does not replace the fundamentals of a property market.
Housing supply, incomes, employment, mortgage affordability and buyer demand would still determine where Hungarian property prices go.
For Hungarian property, the biggest potential benefit of the euro may therefore be a simpler, more predictable market rather than an overnight jump in prices.