The properties Hungarians are looking for: the market is in turmoil

Rising energy costs are increasingly pushing buyers to downsize and seek cheaper and, therefore, smaller properties. The main beneficiaries of this trend are certainly the one-bedroom apartment owners. But what is the reality? What kind of new trends do real estate agents forecast?

“It is difficult to keep track of the growing demand for flats at the moment. In December, the Budapest real estate market saw a significant drop in sales, which means that there were few transactions. This makes comparisons difficult,” said Andrea Nagy, professional manager of two offices at Balla Real Estate, to penzcentrum.hu.

She emphasised that due to the low level of interest, they could only conclude that apartments with favourable prices were easily sold. These include one-bedroom apartments or even detached houses. Even in this challenging market, the estate agent was able to sell a high-scale property just after one day of negotiation.

Photo: Alpár Kató – Daily News Hungary ©

Despite the volatile market situation, we still see advertising prices rise continuously, while this is no longer the case for selling prices. Even for well-endowed properties, sales prices are at best stagnating, while for less well-endowed properties, sales prices are visibly falling.

However, one-bedroom apartments can be either in good or poor condition. The mere fact that a property is a one-bedroom apartment does not determine the level of potential interest in it.

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Andrea Nagy continues to observe steady interest in these properties, especially among young people, young professionals or students moving from the countryside – and their parents. There is no sign that buyers consider a one-bedroom apartment less liveable than a larger one.

Gabi Marosvölgyi, the professional manager of one of Balla Real Estate’s offices, confirmed the same. She also noticed that there was significant interest in smaller apartments in Csepel. However, there is a massive gap between the price imagined or afforded by buyers and the actual advertised price.

Apartments in Budapest. Photo: Szijártó Hajnalka/ dailynewshungary

In other parts of South Pest, however, the situation is a little different. Mária Rencsevics is the professional manager of Balla Real Estate’s three other offices. She said, the most sought-after properties typically share the following features: these mostly former municipal apartments open to a courtyard and are usually situated on the ground floor.

Buyers’ interest in these types of apartments never seems to fade, however, they are not the easiest ones to sell. Although the price is definitely in their favour, buyers are not so keen on the above-listed parameters. Nevertheless, in South West Hungary, those who cannot afford anything better will eventually settle for these flats.

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Andrea Nagy also confirmed that the lower price clearly makes the one-bedroom apartments more attractive, as do the lower maintenance costs. Therefore, according to the expert, there is no issue selling them. Real estate agents can also find tenants very quickly both because of the more affordable rents and the lower utilities,” said Mária Rencsevics. However, post-sale renovation work is always a hassle, therefore, this type of property is less suitable for investors.

Photo: facebook.com/bkkbudapest

Andrea Nagy also added that almost all properties in North Buda are 1-1.5 million HUF (2455.67 – 3683.51 EUR) per square metre. Having said that, in the case of a property badly in need of renovation, there is no way to talk about a sale price above 1 million HUF (2,433 EUR), even in downtown.

According to Mária Rencsevics, one-bedroom apartments in South Pest are generally cheaper than a block of flats of a similar size and condition across the Danube. This is due to the fact that they have a shared courtyard. Gabi Marosvölgyi explained that the price of a one-bedroom apartment in a block of flats in Csepel started at 30 million HUF (73,000 EUR). In the case of renovated properties, the price is much higher. Interest will likely grow further for these types of cheaper properties in the coming months.

Source: penzcentrum.hu