Per Deloitte (2024 data): a new apartment cost €6,121 per m² in Prague, €3,863 in Budapest, and Bucharest averaged €1,757 for all dwellings.
In Hungary the buyer pays 4% transfer tax, with reduced 5% VAT on a new home. The Czech acquisition tax was abolished. Romania: 21% VAT on new homes.
In Hungary a euro loan is capped at 50% of value. The Czech Republic allows up to 80% (70% for investment property), Romania up to 75% in euro.
According to Deloitte, a new 70 m² apartment took about 15 gross annual salaries in Prague and about 11.4 in Budapest.
Hungary removed direct property purchase from its Guest Investor Program. The Czech Republic and Romania grant no residence for buying an apartment.
Bucharest vs Budapest and Prague property prices: the short answer
Of the three capitals, Bucharest is the cheapest per m². According to the Deloitte Property Index 2025, a new apartment in Prague cost about €6,121 per m² in 2024 and about €3,863 in Budapest, against an average of €1,757 per m² for all dwellings in Bucharest. All three countries are in the EU and Schengen, and none of them now grants direct residence for buying an apartment.
Investors who come to me after a tour of Central Europe usually ask the same question: "Budapest is already expensive, Prague even more so. Is Bucharest simply the next stop on the same road?"
The honest answer: maybe, maybe not. Nobody knows what prices will do. But we can know today what everything costs and what the rules are in each city. That is what this article does.
Price per m²: two sources, the same order
| Source | Bucharest | Budapest | Prague |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deloitte Property Index 2025, new dwelling, 2024 data | €1,757 (all dwellings) | €3,863 | €6,121 |
| Numbeo, apartment in the city centre, October 2026 | about €3,370 | about €5,090 | about €8,250 |
| Numbeo, apartment outside the centre, October 2026 | about €1,970 | about €3,500 | about €6,150 |
Both methods give the same order: Prague, then Budapest, and Bucharest last. According to Deloitte, a new apartment in Prague costs more than three times the Bucharest average per m².
Bucharest also has a local benchmark: according to the Imobiliare.ro price index, a new apartment in the city averaged about €2,636 per m² in summer 2026. The gap with Israeli housing prices was described in an ynet report by Hila Tzion (in Hebrew).
And the trend?
According to the same Deloitte report, the average price of a new dwelling rose in 2024 by 11.9% in Hungary, 11.5% in Romania and 2.7% in the Czech Republic. That describes last year, not a forecast. And in Prague, according to the report, it took about 15 gross annual salaries to buy a new 70 m² apartment, against about 11.4 in Budapest.
Purchase taxes in each city
| Romania | Hungary | Czech Republic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT on a new apartment | 21% | 5% on new homes until end-2026, and until 2030 for projects permitted by end-2026 | 12% on housing |
| Transfer tax for the buyer | None | 4% of the price | Abolished in 2020 |
| Other costs | Notary on a sliding scale and 0.15% registration fee | Per transaction | Per transaction |
The Romanian figure rests on Law 141/2025, which raised VAT from 19% to 21% in August 2025. The practical difference: in Hungary, a buyer of a new apartment currently enjoys reduced VAT but pays transfer tax. In the Czech Republic there is no transfer tax. In Romania the tax on a new apartment is the full VAT.
Residence and rules for buyers from abroad
- Hungary: the Guest Investor Program no longer includes a direct property purchase. What remains is an investment of €250,000 in an approved real estate fund, and a donation route. In addition, a non-EU citizen needs approval from the county government office to buy property.
- Czech Republic: there is no residence route through buying an apartment.
- Romania: no golden visa and no residence through property. A non-EU citizen buys the building in their own name, and the land is usually registered through a Superficie right.
In all three capitals, an apartment is an apartment, not a visa. Anyone seeking a status needs another route.
A good comparison does not tell you where to buy. It tells you what to ask.
Flight time and currency
| Bucharest | Budapest | Prague | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct flight from Tel Aviv (approx.) | 2.5 to 3 hours | about 3.5 hours | about 4 hours |
| Currency | Leu | Forint | Czech koruna |
| Time zone | Same as Israel | One hour behind | One hour behind |
None of the three uses the euro, so in each of them the exchange rate weighs on the price and on mortgage repayments.
Mortgage access
Each central bank sets its own financing ceiling:
- Romania: the National Bank of Romania (BNR) allows up to 85% on a loan in lei, and up to 75% in euro for a borrower without income in the loan currency. For non-residents with foreign income, banks usually finance 50% to 70% in practice.
- Hungary: the Hungarian central bank (MNB) allows up to 80% on a forint loan (90% for first-time buyers), but only up to 50% on a euro loan.
- Czech Republic: the Czech National Bank (CNB) allows up to 80% (90% for borrowers under 36), and from April 2026 recommended a 70% cap on investment-property mortgages.
According to Deloitte, the average mortgage rate in 2024 was 9.35% in Hungary, 6.89% in Romania and 5.07% in the Czech Republic. On the terms for non-residents in Romania, see our article on mortgages in Romania for non-residents.
How to use this comparison
- Don't buy a "city", buy a neighbourhood. The gap between the centre and the rest of the city is very large in each of the three capitals.
- Compare the full entry cost: price, VAT or transfer tax, notary and registration.
- Check financing before you fall for a property: in Hungary, a euro loan is capped at 50%.
- Don't build on one year's trend. 11.5% in 2024 is a historical figure, not a promise.
On Bucharest prices by neighbourhood, see our article on Bucharest housing prices and where to look, and for the market as a whole, our overview of the Bucharest property market in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a m² cost in Bucharest compared with Budapest and Prague?
According to the Deloitte Property Index 2025 (2024 data), a new apartment cost about €6,121 per m² in Prague and about €3,863 in Budapest, against an average of €1,757 for all dwellings in Bucharest. According to Numbeo (October 2026), a city-centre apartment costs about €8,250 per m² in Prague, about €5,090 in Budapest and about €3,370 in Bucharest.
Which country has the lower purchase tax?
It depends on the property type. In the Czech Republic the acquisition tax was abolished in 2020, and new housing carries 12% VAT. In Hungary you pay 4% transfer tax, and a new apartment currently carries reduced 5% VAT. Romania has no separate purchase tax, but a new apartment carries 21% VAT.
Does buying an apartment in Budapest give residence?
Not directly. Hungary's Guest Investor Program no longer includes a direct property purchase; what remains is a €250,000 investment in an approved real estate fund and a donation route.
In which city is it easier to get a mortgage?
The caps differ: up to 80% in the Czech Republic (70% for investment property from April 2026), up to 80% in forint and 50% in euro in Hungary, and up to 75% in euro in Romania for a borrower without income in the loan currency. In practice, in all three countries the bank examines your income and its source.
Will Bucharest "catch up" with Budapest and Prague?
Nobody can promise that. The data show a large price gap today and the 2024 trend, not what will happen in the coming years.
The bottom line
Bucharest is the cheapest of the three capitals, by a wide margin. But the decision does not end with the price per m². It includes the tax, the financing, the distance and the neighbourhood.
A good comparison does not tell you where to buy. It tells you what to ask. And if Bucharest is on your list, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go through the numbers in the neighbourhood that interests you, and the path from the preliminary contract to the final contract and registration in your name.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources and data: Deloitte Property Index 2025 (2024 data) · Numbeo, apartment prices per m² (October 2026) · Imobiliare.ro price index (summer 2026) · ynet, Hila Tzion (in Hebrew) · Law 141/2025, Romanian legislation portal · National Bank of Romania (BNR) · Hungarian central bank (MNB) · Czech National Bank (CNB)
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Past data do not guarantee future prices. Figures are correct as of October 2026; before any transaction, consult local professionals.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
