According to Serbian Economist, after several years of low activity among foreign buyers, Hungary’s real estate market may be entering a phase of renewed interest from foreign capital.
According to experts, the Hungarian market has long been operating below its potential: after four years of stagnation, foreign investors have largely ceded ground to domestic buyers. Now analysts expect that a combination of political changes, potential reforms, and pent-up demand could bring Hungary back into the spotlight for international investors.
An additional factor is the expectation of an improved investment climate and the potential release of European funding. Property Forum notes that market participants are discussing a “restart” of the Hungarian real estate market following the April 2026 elections, with macroeconomic stability, regulation, and the willingness of institutional investors to return to the country remaining key issues.
At the same time, the market has already gone through a period of significant price growth. According to Global Property Guide, citing the Hungarian National Bank’s housing price index, housing in Hungary rose by 21.29% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, or by 16.29% in real terms, indicating strong price momentum even before the full return of foreign demand.
In 2026, the market appears more balanced. According to data from Duna House cited by International Investment, approximately 78% of transactions are concluded below the initial asking price, indicating a strengthening of buyers’ bargaining power and the market’s transition from overheating to a more stable phase.
Budapest remains the main center of interest. The capital combines high rental demand, developed infrastructure, tourist traffic, and its status as the country’s business hub. However, it is in Budapest that authorities are also discussing restrictions on short-term rentals: earlier, one of the city’s central districts voted to ban short-term rentals starting in 2026, which could alter the investment model for some buyers.
For foreign investors, Hungary retains several advantages: prices are lower than in most Western European capitals, the market is part of the EU, and the weakening of the forint may make purchases more attractive to buyers with capital in euros or dollars. At the same time, the risks remain significant: rental regulations, high inflation in recent years, political uncertainty, and the market’s dependence on state support and credit conditions.
The return of foreign capital could support prices, especially in Budapest and other liquid locations. However, for local buyers, this could exacerbate the housing affordability problem, which has already become one of the key social issues in Hungary. The government has previously launched first-home support programs, including subsidized loans at 3% for up to 25 years, to help young buyers enter the market.
Thus, the Hungarian real estate market enters 2026 in a mixed state: prices have already risen significantly, demand has become more cautious, but expectations of political and economic changes may once again attract foreign investors. For the market, this means a likely uptick in transactions, and for buyers—the need to more carefully evaluate location, rental models, and regulatory risks.
If product quality and food safety are your area of responsibility, then May 28–29 is your event.
For the sixth year in a row, the “Food Business” conference brings together those who are responsible for quality and safety at Ukrainian food companies on a daily basis—those who implement standards, make tough decisions, and ensure that Ukrainian products can compete effectively on international shelves.
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Current topics that are already shaping the future of the industry:
Day 2 – Industrial Visit: a trip to a food processing plant, a live “expert-to-expert” exchange of experiences, and lunch among like-minded professionals.
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The single property complex (SPC) “Gnizdychiv State Distillery” (Lviv region), which has been inactive since 2010, was sold at auction for 3.7 million UAH (excluding VAT), according to the “Prozorro.Sales” system based on the results of the auction on May 6.
The winner of the auction was Tradex Agri LLC (Zdolbuniv, Rivne region), whose bid exceeded the starting price of 3.26 million UAH by 13.5%. Another auction participant—Lviv-based ADR-Trans-Group LLC—offered 3.4 million UAH for the asset. The lot price, including VAT, amounted to 4.44 million UAH.
According to the terms of sale, the buyer is obligated to repay the company’s debt within six months, which stood at 1.68 million UAH as of the end of 2025.
The privatization object, with a total area of 4,005.5 square meters, includes an administrative building, production facilities, substations, as well as an unfinished mill, a bakery, and a store that is 45% complete. The plant is located on a plot of over 9 hectares in the village of Hnizdychiv (Stryi District); however, the land is not included in the sale and requires a separate lease agreement. As of the end of 2025, the company had only one employee.
According to YouControl, Tradex Agri LLC was registered in 2016 and is part of the Tradex Agri Group, whose beneficiaries are Volodymyr Metkyi and Roman Yanchuk. The group specializes in growing grain and oilseed crops, trading, and dairy farming.
The auction was organized by the regional branch of the State Property Fund of Ukraine for the Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Volyn regions.
Vodafone Ukraine (VFU), Ukraine’s second-largest mobile operator, which has repurchased approximately $24.4 million worth of its own Eurobonds since late May of last year following several offers related to dividend payments, has announced another similar tender at 98% of par value for a total of $1.17 million.
As noted in a statement on the Irish Stock Exchange, the company previously made another monthly dividend payment on May 5 in the amount of 60.18 million UAH.
Applications to participate in the tender are being accepted through May 19, and settlements are scheduled for May 26.
Bonds maturing in February 2027 with a coupon rate of 9.625% per annum were issued for $300 million. Their redemption is related to the fact that on April 24, 2025, VFU announced the accrual of dividends to its shareholder in the amount of UAH 660.245 million ($15.9 million at the exchange rate specified in the announcement) for 2024. In accordance with National Bank restrictions, these dividends will be paid in separate monthly installments in hryvnia equivalent to EUR1 million. The company emphasized that under the terms of the bond issue, in such a case it must offer all bondholders the opportunity to submit an application to sell their bonds for an amount equal to the dividends paid outside Ukraine.
In the first two tenders, mobile operator “Vodafone Ukraine” repurchased bonds in an amount equivalent to EUR1 million. The initial repurchase was announced at 99% of par value, the second at 90% of par value. The company did not announce the results of the second buyback on the exchange, while the bid-to-cover ratio for the first buyback was 0.0040355668.
Following the third tender, where the buyback price was reduced to 85% of par value and the offer was capped at $4.67 million, “Vodafone Ukraine” received bids totaling $53.395 million and satisfied them in the amount of $5.208 million. The scaling factor was 0.1315451889487317.
The fourth tender was announced on August 13 but was subsequently extended seven times. As a result, the redemption price was increased from 85% to 98%, and the redemption amount to $10.84 million. The company received bids totaling $127.14 million for this amount. Some of the bonds were returned to their holders due to the inability to split the face value, while the rest were accepted with a scaling factor of 0.1150681.
In the fifth through ninth bond buyback tenders held from December to April, the price was again 98%: in the fifth tender, with bids totaling $1.165 million, the scaling factor was set at 0.01901; in the sixth tender, with bids totaling $1.475 million – 0.04234; in the seventh, with bids of $1.185 million – 0.3246; in the eighth, with bids of $1.18 million – 0.0333333; and in the ninth, with bids of $1.16 million – 0.449.
Overall, based on the results of the nine tenders, the total nominal value of bonds remaining in circulation is $275.64 million.
As reported, mobile operator VFU increased its revenue by 14% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to 27.8 billion UAH—while its net profit rose by 18%—to 4.18 billion UAH.
Consumer prices for dairy products in Ukraine showed a significantly slower rate of growth in the first quarter of 2026 compared to other food categories, according to the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA).
The industry association noted that, on an annual basis, milk prices rose by 7.3%, sour cream by 5.7%, and soft cheeses by 5.3%, while the price of butter increased by only 1.9%. At the same time, the cost of meat, eggs, and bread increased by 15% to over 20% during the same period.
“Over the past six months, dairy prices have remained relatively stable. They rose slightly or even fell slightly, as in the case of butter, which became 1.4% cheaper. In contrast, eggs, vegetable oil, and bread have risen significantly in price, while only pork and chicken have become cheaper. The situation is similar with producer prices. The dairy industry, therefore, remains one of the main factors holding back food inflation,” the statement quotes a representative of the SMPU as saying.
According to the association’s data, the annual change in producers’ selling prices for dairy products ranged from -3.2% for butter to +5% for sour cream.
By comparison, producer prices for beef, poultry, pasta, and bread rose significantly more—up to 34%.
Over the past six months, the SMPU reported, producer prices for dairy products have mostly declined, while most other food products continued to rise in price.
DTEK Naftogaz is restructuring its debt on $425 million in eurobonds issued through NGD Holdings B.V.: it will be repaid in installments, with final repayment deferred by three years—until December 31, 2029—and the coupon rate increased from 6.75% to 9.875% per annum.
“NGD Holdings … has received the necessary consents to implement the proposals (regarding the restructuring—IF-U)… Accordingly, all consents are now irrevocable, and the proposals are effective and binding on all bondholders,” the exchange announcement states.
According to the announcement, a restructuring consent fee totaling $2.75 million will be paid to all Eurobond holders who submitted applications on May 14.
As reported, DTEK Naftogaz made restructuring proposals on April 9 of this year. The increased interest rate of 9.875% is to be applied starting April 30 of this year, and the principal amount of the debt will be paid out gradually: $27.5 million on April 30 of this year, followed by $27.5 million every six months—on December 31 and June 30—with the balance paid upon final maturity on December 31, 2029.
On April 23, the company announced that it had received consent from holders of 88.66% of the bonds, falling short of the required 90% threshold, and extended the acceptance period by seven days. As of April 30, this figure had risen to 88.87% of the bonds, and holders were given another week to participate in the deal. The issuer warned that if the 90% threshold is not met, it may pursue an alternative option requiring approval from either 50% of bondholders or holders representing 75% of the total bond value.
As part of the restructuring, bondholders also allowed DTEK Naftogaz to withhold the publication of financial statements until the end of martial law, as resolutions by the regulator, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC), restrict the ability to publicly disclose certain financial and operational information and data.
In justifying the restructuring, DTEK Naftogaz cited the moratorium imposed by the National Bank of Ukraine, which significantly limits DTEK Naftogaz’s ability to make cross-border transfers of funds from Ukraine to finance bond payments. It was also noted that Russia has damaged the group’s infrastructure facilities four times through shelling. Repair work is ongoing and is expected to require total capital expenditures of approximately EUR25 million.
DTEK Naftogaz clarified that consolidated revenue from the sale of gas products (including sales of natural gas, gas condensate, and purchased natural gas) decreased from UAH 27.04 billion in 2023 to UAH 19.84 billion in 2024, mainly due to the natural depletion of wells.
“Mainly due to the impact of the NBU moratorium, the Issuer expects that it will not be able to repay the Bonds on the maturity date (December 31, 2026),” the company stated.
It also noted that its subsidiaries NGD and Kosul hold rights to develop certain deep-horizon project areas that have particularly complex geological and technical characteristics, and therefore will require significantly greater capital investment for development than more traditional project areas. As a result, they have not yet developed such blocks, but in the near future, it is proposed to transfer the license rights for them to one or more new SPV project companies, which will then attempt to develop these blocks by sharing project risks, in particular by engaging one or more joint ventures and financial partners.
To implement the projects, DTEK Naftogaz also requested the creditors’ consent for the possible creation of new direct or indirect subsidiaries that will act both as operating companies for the SPVs and as holding companies for one or more SPVs. It also sought consent for the sale and transfer to one or more SPVs of the subsoil use rights for NGD and Kosul regarding two licensed blocks at a depth of over 6,250 meters, with the subsequent involvement of third parties at fair market value.
In November 2022, companies within DTEK Naftogaz acquired the rights to develop two gas fields in the Poltava region at a public auction: the Maiorivska area for UAH 1.102 billion and the Birkivsko-Zinkivska area for UAH 211 million.
According to data from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, DTEK Naftogaz bonds are trading at 92.68% of par value. On the day the restructuring proposal was announced, their price stood at 91% of par value.
