Radical change: the crisis and the war disrupt the prices of Hungarian apartments

Due to the energy crisis and expensive loans, there is a growing interest in small apartments. Therefore, the prices of these are getting more and more expensive. And yet, large apartments are increasingly difficult to sell.

Small apartments are more attractive

While everyone wanted to move to a bigger apartment during the Covid closures, now people prefer smaller apartments. After the introduction of utility cuts and brutal inflation, small Hungarian apartments became more attractive. However, these come at a cost! In Budapest, you have to pay around 1 million HUF (2363 euros) for one square meter of apartments under 40 square meters yields Nepszava. This means that you have to pay 40 million HUF (€94,529) for a studio in the capital. It does not matter whether the apartment is panel or brick. In most county seats, smaller apartments can be obtained somewhat cheaper: for 322,000 HUF (€761.14) to 938,000 HUF (€2,217.25).

What is the case in the countryside?

In Budapest, the price advantage for mid-sized apartments is still 9%, but what about the Hungarian countryside? Last year in Győr the difference was only 4%, but this year it is already 21%. This is because studios in the capital have become more expensive by 59%, while apartments of 40 to 80 square meters have only increased by 31%. Last year, medium-sized apartments in Szolnok were charged 4% more per square meter, but this year they are 17% cheaper than studios. In Kaposvár, the price advantage for mid-sized apartments was still 12% last year and 22% this year. In Debrecen, Kecskemét and Miskolc there was a difference of 9, 7 and 12 percent in the rate of price increase.

What the beginning?

On the one hand, according to Ingatlan.com’s leading economic expert, the change in overhead rules has not yet caused huge changes in the national real estate market, reports Index. He believes this is just 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-efficient properties are an exception.

“In the case of certain types of property – for example rural houses, larger surfaces, less modern family houses – it is already possible to perceive a slowdown in the rise in prices, but a real fall in prices can occur when owners are forced to sell their property. “, underlined László Balogh.

Source: Nepszava, Index