Invest in Budapest

On a crisp, clear autumn day in Budapest the sun streamed in through tall windows on to the splendid parquet floor of an elegant flat on the east bank of Budapest. The flat was late 19th-century but spacious and in good condition — three large bedrooms, high ceilings, original features, hand-painted floor tiles. I looked out over the city, at the broad avenues and grassy parks of ‘Pest’, at the glinting Danube, and at the hills of ‘Buda’ in the west, and wondered whether to buy it.

Am I a millionaire? Far from it. I’m just a regular Londoner with some money to invest. I’m not looking at anything worth more than £100,000, and this apartment falls well within my remit. And the best part is that it’s almost bound to soar in value over the next few years.

The property market is thriving right now in Hungary, yet starting from a very low baseline.