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1024 Budapest Hungary
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Pandemic catches up with residential property market

napi.hu, 24 March – The Coronavirus hit the property market in a period of consolidation and its effects will undoubtedly depend on how fast and effectively the individual governments respond to the pandemic. There is a suggested (and not obligatory) quarantine, i.e. people tend to stay at home which resulted in a reduction of propensity to buy and even the number of property visits by 60 per cent compared to previous months. However, urgent sales transactions are still completed rapidly. The effects of the new virus are mostly felt in Budapest – there are significantly less inquiries. In the country, on the other hand, the market is still seeing some brisk activity and there are almost no signs of a panic. That said, the situation is changing rapidly in response to the latest news and government measures. During first couple of weeks of the month we were witnessing the usual March market slowly waking up from its winter sleep. Last week, however, the number of new inquiries suddenly fell by more than 60 per cent and also the volume of new assignments given to property agents has fallen by 30 per cent.

Coronavirus: a new age dawning on the property market

Napi.hu — The Coronavirus pandemic and the declaration of state of emergency have brought about an almost instantly perceivable change on the property market, too. There are no signs of a wide-spread and significant price decrease as yet, but there may be more and more “good buys” appearing on the market in the near future.

Personal visits will be replace by informative and relevant online advertisements and the role of real estate agents will gain importance, too.

Demand has decreased over the past few weeks but supply has increased. Also, buyers have a wider bargaining span because those who really want to sell their properties can count on 10-15 per cent less potential buyers than before the crisis.

Another reason of the decrease in demand is that some buyers postpone their purchase and “rubbernecks”, who have less serious purchase intentions, may also vanish from the market. Those who are still in the market as buyers have serious intentions and strive for a quick and effective transaction.