Giant boom in real estate sector at Balaton – 2020 a record year

Photo: facebook.com/BalatonFelvidek.hu/

We have met with a threat never seen before and it forced us to stay in our homes for just about an entire year now. People cannot really travel abroad and living in a small apartment can be challenging. Everyone expected that the real estate market would plummet in Hungary big time. But that is not what has happened.

A lot of people who had money saved for travelling but could not go abroad due to the coronavirus measures went ahead and visited Balaton, the Hungarian sea. But some people decided to purchase real estate in Hungary’s largest lake and this has lead to a record-breaking year in 2020 on the real estate market. The very opposite of what most people have expected.

Index asked two realtors about the phenomena and their experience. For the most part, both László Gyarmati from Lido Home and Jószef Máhl from Duna House have agreed that despite expectations,

the real estate sector is booming and the demand for houses near Balaton are very high. They also said that most buyers prefer to pay with cash.

“There has been an outstanding demand for properties around Lake Balaton before, but even that has increased due to the coronavirus. More people want to buy real estate than there are properties to sell, meaning that a demand-market has emerged. As a result of the pandemic, the demand for higher-priced real estate has also increased, as many people expect the long-term growth of domestic holidays, so

they are looking for quality, more expensive houses, holiday homes and newly built flats for their own use, but also for investment purposes,” – said Jószef Máhl to Index.

Development is also underway around one of Hungary’s most beloved holiday destinations with a new reform beach to be built. To really see how Lake Balaton has changed, you would need to travel back in time and see it for yourself.

He also reported that previously there was a halt in real estate purchases around January, but in 2021 many properties have already been sold in the first month of the year. Normally those houses would have been advertised only starting from March, but most of them are already taken. What the effect of this was is that the real estate market, in addition to having had a record year in 2020, started 2021 with a fourth of the trade of last year within a single month. They might be able to break the record two years in a row. That is if there will be any real estate left to be sold.

“The demand is intense, most people want to get away from the tower blocks and the city, and if they cannot go on holiday abroad but have the money, they will buy a property on Balaton.

The renewed resorts of Szabadi Beach House were sold in about four months, while more than 20 of the 83 apartments at the Roman House in Siófok were sold in just two months, even though the apartments will not be ready until the beginning of next year,” – Gyarmati commented.

But there is also a downside to high demand. Prices go up, way up. According to Máhl, real estates have become more expensive by about 20-25% due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The prices of properties go almost head-to-head with Budapest’s most prestigious neighbourhood in some places around Balaton.

And if you would like to see the most expensive property in all of Balaton, read the article below: