Huge profits made by foreigners when buying flats in Budapest

The Hungarian currency, the forint, has been getting weaker and weaker since the end of May. Previously, 1 Euro was worth around 310 HUF; by now, this number rose to 325 HUF. However, there is one group who have experienced the positive side of it all: foreigners dealing with real estates in Budapest who happen to pay with Euros have benefitted from the situation – reports forbes.hu.

Nowadays, a flat in Budapest that is located in a friendly neighbourhood is in good condition and has three bedrooms can cost up to 60 million forints without the price causing any eyebrow raises or any outrage. At the end of May, a flat like that cost around 193 thousand Euros whereas now, in July, the same flat costs 182 thousand Euros.

This 11-thousand-Euro difference was caused entirely by the weakening of the forint.

This means that foreigners buying flats in Budapest were able to save around 11 thousand Euros (3.5 million forints) if they just waited 1.5 months with the purchase.

The number of people making profits on the weakening of the forint can range between a few hundred to a few thousand, considering the data suggesting that foreigners make 10% of the flat purchases in the capital.

Besides foreigners, this drastic change in the Hungarian currency’s worth has positively affected those who happened to rent out their flat on the condition that they will get paid in Euros. There is an abundance of such contracts in certain districts in Budapest, mostly those that are favoured by foreigners.

These flat owners are getting more money now in exchange for the same services, only because of the exchange rates.

For instance, a family house in Budaliget that was rented out for 2500 EUR (775 thousand HUF) in the spring brings 28 thousand HUF (86.15 EUR) more for the owners now.

Luckily, though, those Hungarians who get their salary and pay their rent in forints notice little of the changing value of their future or current homes. These people still constitute the majority, as the changing value of the forint presents itself in everyday life slowly and can be felt only indirectly as of now.

For related news, check out this article about how the weakening of the forint has affected car sales.

Source: forbes.hu