Get ready: panic sales to come in the Hungarian property market in January

According to the expert of Ingatlan.com, more and more people are already trying to get rid of their houses. However, the real upheaval will only come after the second or third huge utility bill.

As soon as the increase in utility bills was announced, it seemed that those who could not cope with the burden would be forced to sell their houses, szmo.hu writes. But it would not be easy: who would want to buy a property that is being sold precisely because of high utility bills? Szmo.hu talked to László Balogh, real estate expert of Ingatlan.com.

Balogh says it has been a busy seven years for the real estate market. Recent price rises have been dramatic, with average annual house prices in big cities rising by up to 25 percent. Due to inflation and the energy crisis, the housing market dynamics could split between low maintenance, more energy efficient properties that can maintain their value, and those with poor efficiency, say uninsulated, old windows, which could fall in price.

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Smaller properties may again be popular, as higher energy consumption combined with a smaller floor area may still be affordable. However, it will be harder to sell properties that are larger and less energy efficient. This can significantly reduce the value of these properties, Mr. Balogh said. Yet they can still appear in droves on the for-sale side as owners struggle to manage the high utility bills.

Many people will not be able to postpone the sale of these properties, so this situation will inevitably bring prices down. This process is already visible in the volume of properties, but not yet in prices. However, it is also clear that those who are trying to think ahead are now taking action. They are trying to prevent a panic situation where they will have to compete with a large number of sellers for fewer and fewer buyers in the market.

The spectacular shift will start when people receive their second or third huge utility bill. This is expected to be around Christmas. So we expect the first months of 2023 to see the feed-through of the crisis into prices and a big supply upheaval.