What’s happening? Communist-era flats sell faster than any other homes in Hungary

The gap between the selling times of different property types continues to widen. While flats changed hands more quickly in the first half of the year, the time needed to sell houses increased further. Panel apartments sold the fastest, with an average time of just 50 days, according to the latest analysis by ingatlan.com, as reported by MTI on Wednesday.

According to the report, the time needed to sell panel flats has been decreasing for a year, dropping from 80 days in Q3 2023 to just 50 days in Q2 2024. In the first half of the year, the average time on the market for brick-built apartments was 84 days, while family houses took significantly longer—201 days on average.

In Q2, prefab flats (built using industrial technology) sold the fastest in regional centres, with an average of 39 days on the market. In the outer districts of Pest, the average was 43 days, in Buda 52 days, and in the inner districts of Pest 49 days. Sales took longer than the national average in smaller towns (59 days) and in cities with county rights (66 days).

Used brick-built apartments also sold faster in Q2. In the outer districts of Pest and regional centres, these properties spent 54 and 60 days on the market, respectively. The next fastest were the downtown and Buda districts with 73 and 76 days. In cities with county rights, the average was 87 days, while in smaller towns and the Budapest metropolitan area, sales took 130–135 days.