Unexpectedly, the property market started to boom again in Hungary

Hungary’s real estate market unexpectedly began to flourish again. Based on the data of the Duna House, a Hungarian real estate agency, March saw a 25 percent surge in property sales numbers. Daily, 250 flats and houses exchange owners in the country.

According to Világgazdaság, prices began to decrease while more families are trying to buy a property with the help of the different government allocations. It seems the buyers are returning to the Hungarian real estate market. In Budapest, average property prices stood at HUF 50.7 million (EUR 136,000) last month.

In March, there were 7,787 sales in Hungary, based on the recent analysis of the Duna House. That is a 25 percent rise compared to February, and March became the best month in Q1. However, if we take a look into the situation from a broader perspective, we can state that the Q1 of 2023, bringing 19,893 sales, is still the weakest quarter in the last ten years.

More buyers on the property market

The last time that figure stood lower was in 2013, Duna House added. Anyway, the real estate agency calculates an increase in transactions for Q2 in 2023. They said lower prices arrived on the market, and the trend concerns even the nominal and real value. Prices are not as stable as they were before. As a result, many buyers realised they could negotiate and buy real estate cheaper than their advertisement price.

The negotiation rate varies, but generally, it is between 4 and 9 percent, which is considerable.

Those looking for investment would like to buy 54 square metres on average in Budapest and would pay HUF 50.7 million (EUR 136,000). 43 percent of the sales in Budapest fell into that category in March. But people search for newly-built properties as well. The average price per square metre went above HUF 1 million (EUR 2,676) in 15 districts. The most expensive district was the Buda Castle (1st district), with HUF 2.6 million/sqm (EUR 7,000). Meanwhile, the 13th, 9th and 11th districts had the biggest offer of newly-built projects in Q1. However, based on bank data, people would not like to take up loans to buy property. The rate of such financial transactions fell by 67 percent compared to 2022 Q1.

Experts expect positive changes in Hungary’s real estate market in the coming months. Based on the data of Creditpass, more families accept government-helped CSOK (housing subsidy for families) loans, and people became financially more conscious due to the high interest rates.

Read also:

• Time to haggle: the reasons why you can save big on a home purchase in Hungary
• Properties for sale in Budapest from the city administration!