Holiday home prices in Hungary decreased compared to last year

In 2023, the holiday areas were not as prominent as residential areas on the real estate market, but this year, they already seem more sought after. According to experts, the selection has become much larger compared to recent years, there are more than 11,000 residential properties for sale in the coastal parts of the holiday areas.

As Index reports, this represents an increase of 8 percent compared to 2023 already, 40 percent more than in May 2022.

“This might be due to lower prices, as there were 15 percent more inquiries for properties for sale in the settlements on the south shore this year than in the same period of 2023. Based on these, we expect a lively summer in the Balaton real estate market,” László Balogh, ingatlan.com’s leading economic expert, stated.

The selection of houses in holiday areas has increased

Photo: depositphotos.com

The decrease in prices on the Southern shore of Lake Balaton is mainly due to the used apartments and houses for sale, because compared to them, the price of newly built properties is constantly rising, and it has already reached HUF 1,500,000 (EUR 3,887) per square meter on average. However, holiday homes that are not newly built have an average price of HUF 980,000 (EUR 2,539) per square meter, which is lower than at this time last year.

In the towns of Gárdony and Velence, which are located on the shore of another popular holiday destination, Lake Velence, the number of holiday homes available to purchase has increased by 9 percent. Compared to last May, owners are selling more houses for HUF 774,000 (EUR 2,005) per square meter. At the same time, in Velence, the number of residential properties for sale increased much more radically, and at the same time, the prices increased minimally, by only 3 percent to HUF 843,000 (EUR 2,187) in one year.

Photo: depositphotos.com

“In the holiday areas next to our lakes, the supply at Lake Tisza jumped the most, by 40 percent on an annual basis. Currently, more than 600 residential properties are waiting to be purchased. At the same time, this is not visible in the square meter prices, as they increased by 6 percent to HUF 357,000 (EUR 926). Lake Tisza is one of our most dynamically developing holiday areas, where prices have been rising steadily for years. The supply may be a tenth as large as by Lake Balaton, but the properties for sale cost a third as much”, Balogh added.

What about other regions?

In Somogy County, which is popular among foreigners, more than 5,500 new and used residential properties were for sale in mid-May, which corresponds to an increase of 3 percent. Average square meter prices were HUF 1.02 million (EUR 3,112), which is 2 percent lower than a year earlier.

As we reported earlier, 2024 began with a property price rise in Budapest. In the first two months, the average square meter price of the brick apartments in the capital grew above HUF 1 million (EUR 2,516). The most expensive big city in the countryside was Debrecen, with an average rent of HUF 240,000 (EUR 618) a month. Here, prices have risen by an average of HUF 20,000 (EUR 52) per month, so much so that the mean rent in Debrecen is higher than in nine districts of Budapest.

Read also:

• Housing market: Foreigners buy up the countryside, rents in Budapest cheapen – Read here
• Positive changes at Lake Balaton: Far more holiday homes for sale than in 2023