Demand for Housing Fell in Hungary in April

After the increased interest of the past months, the residential property market for sale was characterised by a significant drop in demand in April, with interest declining mainly in the capital as investor activity declined, the Hungarian real estate website ingatlan.com reported on Monday, according to its own data.

According to the monthly aggregate of the real estate broker, demand for residential properties for sale fell by 14% year-on-year in April, while the decline was 17% compared to March, based on calendar-adjusted data.

However, the 1.27 million telephone enquiries recorded in the first four months of the year were up 1% on the base period, they added.

They pointed out that the decline in April demand was mainly due to a drop in activity from investment buyers, but the base effect also played a role, as Easter fell in March last year.

The release quoted László Balogh, chief economist at ingatlan.com, as saying that most of the investment buyers who had been driving demand at the beginning of the year had already found the property they were looking for.

The supply side also declined in April due to seasonal effects, with 4 percent fewer apartments and houses for sale being advertised, they said. Between the beginning of January and the end of April, 137,000 residential listings were posted, and of the 210,000 listings currently available on ingatlan.com, more than 131,000 are for homes for sale, down 11% from the supply level in May last year due to strong demand at the beginning of the year.

The specialist noted in the statement that the 'frenzy' seen in the first months of the year has been followed by a natural correction in the market. The relationship between buyers and sellers could become more balanced, with investors increasingly replacing investors as the main buyers for their own use, which could slow the pace of house price appreciation.

ingatlan.com confirmed its earlier estimate that the number of sales could reach 155,000 this year, which is already close to the pre-coronavirus housing market.