Drastic change: crisis and war overturn the prices of Hungarian apartments
Due to the energy crisis and the expensive loans, there is an increasing interest in smaller apartments. Therefore, the prices of these is getting the more expensive. And yet, larger apartments are increasingly difficult to sell.
Smaller apartments are more attractive
While everyone wanted to move to a bigger apartment during the closures due to Covid, now people prefer smaller aparments. After the introduction of utility reductions and brutal inflation, smaller Hungarian apartments became more attractive. However, these come at a cost! In Budapest, you have to pay around HUF 1 million (EUR 2363) for a square meter of apartments under 40 square meters, reports Népszava. It means you have to pay HUF 40 million (EUR 94,529) for a studio apartment in the capital. It does not matter whether the apartment is panel or brick-built. In most of the county seats, smaller apartments can be obtained somewhat cheaper: for HUF 322,000 (EUR 761,14) to HUF 938,000 (EUR 2217,25).
What is the case in the countryside?
In Budapest, the price advantage of medium-sized apartments is still 9 percent, but what about the Hungarian countryside? Last year in Győr, the difference was only 4 percent, but this year it is already 21. This is beacause studios in the county seat have become more expensive by 59 percent, while apartments of 40-80 square meters only by 31 percent. Last year, medium-sized apartments in Szolnok were charged 4 percent higher per square meter, this year, however, they are 17 percent cheaper than studios. In Kaposvár, the price advantage of medium-sized apartments was still 12 percent last year, and 22 percent this year. In Debrecen, Kecskemét and Miskolc, there was a difference of 9, 7 and 12 percent in the rate of price increase.
Only the beginning?
On the one hand, according to the leading economic expert of Ingatlan.com, the amendment of the overhead rules has not yet caused huge changes in the domestic real estate market, reports Index. He believes this is only the beginning with more and more apartments appearing on the market. On the other hand, there is less demand which is why it takes longer and longer to sell a property. However, new or newly built, energy-saving properties are an exception.
“In the case of certain property types – for example rural, larger floor area, less modern family houses – it is already possible to perceive a slowdown in price increases, but an actual price decrease may come when the owners are forced to sell their property,” emphasised László Balogh.
Source: Népszava, Index