Home buyers are flocking from Romania to Hungary

An increasing number of people living in the western region of Romania are opting to purchase property in Hungary, close to the Romanian-Hungarian border. It is not surprising that there is a great interest in Hungarian homes, as real estate prices are way lower than in Romania.

Favourable prices in Hungary

In Romania, a 60 square metre, 2-bedroom apartment is selling for almost EUR 100,000. In contrast, homes can be found for sale for as cheap as EUR 10,000 in Hungarian towns near the border, rtl.hu reports. Interest in properties in eastern Hungarian towns began to rise after Romania joined the EU in 2007, RTL spotted on the Romanian Digi24. Buyers are mainly coming from Western Romanian counties, predominantly from Arad county. Although property prices in Hungary have also increased a lot since 2007, it is still more profitable for many people from Romania to relocate.

Read also: Digital turnaround in the Hungarian real estate sector

Majority of new residents are commuters

Another incentive for many of those moving from Romania is that they can keep their jobs in Romania even though they do not live there. Many workers still commute to Romania on a daily basis. From the Hungarian town of Battonya, for instance, it takes a 30-minute drive to get to Arad, RTL reports. The rural town is located in the Southern Great Plain region and its popularity has been increasing by the minute. The Romanian community in Battonya already has its own school, kindergarten and community centre.

One of the interviewees told Digi24 that a major reason why people choose to commute is the lack of job opportunities in the area. According to her, many people commute to Arad for work. Some companies in Arad even provide a bus service for commuters from Battonya.

However, it is not just the work that drives them back to Romania. As food and fuel are cheaper in Romania, many people do their shopping and fill up their tanks there. According to RTL, buying groceries in Romania is a good way to save up to HUF 20-30,000 (EUR 53-80).

Both news portals attribute the low property prices in the East Hungarian region to the lack of job opportunities. Despite the low prices, most of the properties here are in good condition. The main reason why former residents are selling their homes is that they would prefer to move to larger cities, where they can find a wider range of jobs.