Do you want to buy an apartment in Hungary? This is your time!

The second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic is having a serious impact on the real estate market. On average, the price drop of newly-built flats sold by Otthon Centrum in September is approaching almost ten per cent, compared to the previous three months, reports 24.

The market hit is the panel building, as this can be the fastest-selling in the real estate market. Thanks to changing shopping habits, by September, the prices of new and used brick-built flats also fell compared to the previous three months. Newly-built homes have seen the biggest decline, with house prices falling by as much as 8.5 per cent on average.

Moreover, in the case of newly-built homes, the biggest difference is found between large cities and small settlements.

In Buda, as well as in the cities with county rights, there was a decline of around 10 per cent, while in the smaller cities, there was a price increase of more than 5 per cent. The largest price drop was in Budapest in the upscale District 13 and in the northern Buda district. There has been a decline of as much as over 10 per cent. In contrast, prices per square metre in the outer districts of the capital may have risen by as much as 10 per cent.

The price of family houses has not moved much compared to the national average. However, there are also big differences between Budapest and the countryside. There was a 10-20 per cent price increase in Budapest while a 5-10 per cent decrease in smaller cities.

The panel buildings remain top-ranked properties,

as they are available to the masses. Due to demand, considering the national average, they had to pay 7 per cent more per square meter than in the previous three months. This can also be seen as a kind of price correction, as during the first wave of the epidemic, the price of this type of property fell the most.

In addition to property prices, the pandemic also changed the average time required to sell. In the case of panel flats, the rotation speed decreased by 10 days (currently 90 days), while in the case of detached houses, the time spent on the market decreased from 170 days to 166 days.

Budapest is an exception, as an average of 100 days is enough for a sale there.

The best bargaining position for buyers is in the case of detached houses. On average, sellers allow 9.5 per cent of the advertised price to drop from the announcement of the house to the selling contract.

The market could be affected in the short term by the government’s new home-building program. Based on this, in the case of constructions that will take place by the end of 2022, the VAT on housing construction will again be 5 per cent. This can help resume projects that were stopped at the beginning of the year. Second-hand flats are affected by another measure of the government, according to which families raising at least one child can reclaim half of the housing renovations started after 1 January 2021 (up to a maximum of HUF 3 million) from the state.

Source: 24.hu