Characteristics of land market in Hungary at the time of the EU accession

The aim of this study was to analyse the Hungarian land market and the changes that have occurred since the EU accession as well as to present the tendencies of the development. The demand in Hungary is primarily for outstanding and good quality land of favourable location in certain regions or large plots of arable and forest land. Scattered, wedged properties of small size or of unclear ownership (undivided common land) are difficult to sell. Many of the vendors are old people with subsistence worries or people who obtained the title by compensation but do not wish to get involved in cultivation. Many of the buyers are well capitalised farmers, who wish to increase their holdings, or to unite their property (by land swap). Another significant group of buyers wish to invest into farmlands located in the neighbourhood of large cities. In the immediate years before the EU accession, land and lease prices increased significantly.