Construction market in Hungary - November 2008

In the first half of 2008 Hungary saw a 13.1% decline in construction-related investment. While some sectors increased investments, the most important real estate and government related sectors faced major declines.
With its roughly 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is in the middle of EU member states. The country has a GDP of EUR 100bn, which is roughly 20% lower than that of the Czech Republic, a country of similar size and historical
background.
Hungary’s economic growth is not particularly impressive, either. Its 1.3% growth rate of GDP in 2007 was the lowest in the EU. For the next year the Hungarian government is expecting a growth of 1%. Taking into consideration that this estimate has been revised a number of times from its initial high of 3.0%, it may be doubtful whether even this estimate can be accomplished, especially in the wake of the current financial crisis, which hit
Hungary particularly hard.