Anyone who wants to sell their property can sell it now

However, regarding the price, he will be forced to make a compromise, because according to the expert, sales will no longer be successful at last year’s prices. The agglomeration real estate market has slowed down a lot in recent months, one or at best two sales per month took place in January and February, said Gabi Marosvölgyi, the professional manager of Balla Ingatlan’s Csepel and Szigetszentmiklós offices, about the real estate market of the south-Pest agglomeration.

January and February were particularly “bitter”, the office had only a few sales of smaller value, but around March and April it seemed as if the buyers had moved again, so the number of transactions started to increase – it was revealed from his words. However, he also drew attention to the fact that they only buy real estate with a very good price/value ratio, which means that it is much cheaper than the price levels established at the beginning of last year. By the way, it is typical that, for example, in Csepel, interested parties are looking for a property up to a maximum of HUF 30 million, or if they want a family house more expensive than that, then it should be completely renovated, but it should not cost more than HUF 50 million.

As a result, there is practically “zero” demand for newly built properties. The price of these deters buyers, since the prices of building materials continued to rise, just as the price of plots did not fall. Nevertheless, there is still demand for plots. On the other hand, buyers are not interested in family houses to be renovated, even if they are offered for up to HUF 29 million in the parts of the old town of Szigetszentmiklós or on the banks of the Danube, added the real estate agent. In any case, the supply is getting bigger and already significantly exceeds the demand – which, according to the expert’s estimate, must have decreased by about 40 percent in the last year – so the buyers would have something to choose from if the owners offered these properties at a reasonable price.

In addition to high prices, of course, high loan interest rates also strongly discourage buyers. Borrowing is now very “bitter”, said the Balla Ingatlan expert. People who buy are often forced to take out a loan now – if they can – and there are even loans of significant amounts, if of course the customer meets the strict conditions. However, the falling demand did not result in a decrease in prices, or at least not drastically. In contrast to the crisis of 2008, when real estate prices fell, this did not happen now, as if the sellers did not “understand” that the situation had changed, or even if they did, they could not lower the price, because if they wanted to buy another property from the price of the property sold, then they also face high prices – explained Gabi Marosvölgyi. In this way, it is often possible to complete a transaction only if the problem of moving on does not bother the seller, because, for example, he already has the property where he will live, or perhaps an inherited property is being sold, the price of which is easier for the heirs to give up. So, anyone who wants to sell their property can sell it now, they just have to adjust the price to the level expected by the buyers.

The latter means that it does not hurt if the seller is willing to bargain, although this is not necessarily justified for realistic pricing. Buyers sometimes try to bargain, even in cases where a particular property is not overpriced. In such cases, of course, it is understandable if the owner does not agree to the price reduction. Such was the case recently, when an offer of HUF 56 million was received for a nice, realistically priced family house for HUF 62 million, which, of course, the owner did not accept. But the real estate agent recently sold a family house in Szigetszentmiklós for HUF 48 million without any negotiations at all. The situation is complicated by the fact that investors are now not putting their money into real estate. Gabi Marosvölgyi recently encountered a case where the buyer changed his mind and did not buy real estate with his money, but rather government securities. However, the demand for apartments for rent is very high here, and the rents are also quite high: in the case of apartments, the price ranges from HUF 120,000 to 160,000 per month, depending on the size and quality.

As for the future, although the spring months were already a bit busier than the winter months, the expert does not have overly optimistic expectations, at least he does not see what the factor or change would be that would drive the real estate market upwards in the summer months . He believes that as long as the war continues and inflation does not decrease to a significant extent, and loan interest rates are high, no major recovery can be expected. Since the situation is so uncertain, those who can postpone moving and purchasing real estate for the time being, and this is reflected in the real estate market.

Background information:

The 22-year-old Balla Ingatlan is the oldest real estate brokerage network on the domestic market, the Hungarian-owned company was founded in 2000 by Ákos Balla. The company with nearly 50 offices is one of the four largest real estate brokerage networks in Hungary. The company group has nearly 200 employees.