Price Development of Used Apartments in Hungary

Abstract

Regarding the written press, in many cases it can be read that due to the coronavirus epidemic, the interest in residential real estate has decreased globally, in the European Union and in Hungary as well. As COVID affects not only property prices but all sectors of the economy, I considered it important to review the second-hand property market in early 2021. As COVID in the real estate market required the introduction of new techniques, I wondered how this would translate into selling prices. Digital solutions have also come to the fore in the sale of apartments, houses and residential real estate. Online contracts, live-related online home shows, and the conclusion of sales contracts with absence identification have played a major role. Due to the tightening caused by the pandemic (university education without the presence of students, termination or suspension of employment, or home-office work, etc.), many of the flats that have been occupied by tenants so far have remained empty. As part of the owner bought and operated his apartment for investment purposes, some of these apartments were also among the properties for sale and a strong supply market developed. In many cases, there has been an overpricing of property prices, causing many buyers to delay the purchase of residential property. Aware of this information, I examined the sales structure of the real estate market in Hungary, in the countryside and in the county capitals.