Housing financialisation as a tool of managing dependent integration – the case of Hungary between 2008 and 2022

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the post-2008 long decade of housing financialisation in Hungary in the framework of dependent / subordinate financialisation. Our main argument is that in the long decade between 2008 and 2022, a self-reinforcing, synergetic system of housing financialisation had been built up in Hungary which served the interests of a populist government and local economic elite navigating the dependent economic position of the country. During this period, public debt was restructured towards domestic (and individual) creditors, and private debt massively expanded with the support of different programs subsidized by the government – mainly in the field of housing. This all happened in the broader context of a period of historically low interest rates and economic expansion. Currently, at the time of the multiple crises of 2022, this synergetic system of housing financialisation shows its flaws and starts to waver. As a result, a new, reorganised period of housing financialisation will likely emerge in the coming years.