Hungarian estate agents divided by the impact of the crisis

Most estate agents in a recent survey said they expect the price of existing properties to fall, according to a report released on Tuesday.

In the quarterly survey conducted jointly by economic research firm GKI and Masterplast in November, 48 percent of 91 estate agents said price of properties in Budapest would stagnate and 33 said they would drop by 1 percent, while only 19 percent said they expect prices to increase.

Property prices in western parts of the country could decrease by 4 percent and in the east by as much as 6 percent, the report said.

Nationwide, 33 percent of agents expect the price of new builds will increase while two-thirds see prices stagnating. New builds in Budapest are seen as rising by 5 percent while increasing by 3 percent elsewhere in the country.

Rents are likely to increase by 4 percent in Budapest and by 2 percent in western parts, while they could drop by 6 percent in the eastern regions, the survey found.

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Residents are more cautious with their investments than earlier, with the number of those expressing an intention to buy or build an property 17 percentage points below the level three months ago.

The housing market has dropped steadily in 2022, suggesting a gloomy outlook. The November GKI-Masterplast Budapest housing market index fell by 10 points on a quarterly basis and by 26 points on an annual basis. For the entire country, a contraction of 9 points on a quarterly basis and 27 points on an annual basis is forecast.

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