Parliamentary and Strategic State Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Miklós Panyi said that the price caps built into the government’s new fixed 3 percent housing loan scheme will prevent real estate prices from rising. He made the remarks in a video statement published on Facebook on Sunday under the heading “Message to fearmongers.”

Panyi noted that “many left-wing commentators and opposition party leaders are scaremongering” by claiming the program could drive up property prices by 20 to 40 percent. He rejected these claims, stressing that there are already more than 100,000 properties nationwide eligible for purchase under the scheme, covering rural areas, major cities, and Budapest. He added that thousands of additional properties would enter the market that had previously not been offered for sale due to a lack of buyers.

According to the state secretary, more than 10,000 new housing developments tailored for first-time buyers will also begin construction in Budapest this autumn, significantly boosting supply.

“Not least, we have placed strict price caps in the program. The 1.5 million forint per square meter limit, along with the 100 and 150 million forint maximum price thresholds for apartments and houses, will hold back property price growth,” Panyi declared.