These are the losers of the real estate market turnaround in Hungary

It is taking longer and longer for properties to sell in Hungary. However, apartments and flats are still selling within weeks, according to the latest analysis from ingatlan.com. With less demand, landlords have started to lower their asking prices. But who are the losers in this situation that the Hungarian real estate market is in?

Turnaround in the real estate market

There is already uncertainty in the housing market. This is partly due to slowing economic growth, high inflation and rising household spendings. As a result, purchasing power has also weakened, which is dampening housing market dynamics, Index reports.

However, to avoid a serious slowdown, sellers also need to adapt their pricing to the situation. According to an analysis by ingatlan.com, this can be measured by the time it takes to sell, so they have now looked at how long it took for residential properties in different municipalities to find a buyer between October and mid-November.

Smaller apartments are selling well

The trend in selling times clearly shows that the smaller floor area, less than 40 square metres, prefabricated and brick-built apartments are selling very quickly in Budapest and in the big cities. On the one hand, they are cheap because of the floor space, and they are also the most attractive for investment buyers. In the period under review, the average time to market for a panelled apartment in Budapest was 45 days, with those under 40 square metre taking only 36 days to sell.

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Here are the losers

It takes twice as long to sell a 40-79 square metre apartment in the capital. Even so, they sold out in less than 70 days. Brick-built apartments in Budapest take 51 days to sell, while 40-79 square metre apartments take 74 days, i.e. two and a half months. It took more than 100 days to sell terraced, semi-detached and detached houses in Budapest.

Similar results to those in the capital can be seen in the county seats. At the same time, owners waited 114 days to sell their houses in the cities with county rights. In municipalities, houses took 117 days to sell. According to the survey, owners are increasingly realising the importance of realistic pricing. The data shows that owners entering the market are really keen to sell their properties. The best way to do this is to stop overpricing to the extent that has been the norm in recent years.

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Inflation keeps many more young people in the family home

The proportion of young people aged 19-29 living with their parents who are unsure when they will be able to leave their ‘mum hotel’ has increased significantly this year, according to the K&H Youth Index. In the third quarter of this year, 48 percent were unable to predict when they would move out. This is a significant increase from 37 percent a year earlier. What is more, 16 percent of young people living with their parents do not even plan to move, Index writes.