Significant Price Increases in the Used Car Market

The average price of advertised cars increased to HUF 4.62 million in the third quarter of this year, while at the beginning of 2020 it was still HUF 2.5 million, and at the end of 2021 it was slightly above HUF 4.5 million, the used cars portal Használtautó.hu told the state news agency MTI on Tuesday.

The statement informed that in September, the average selling time of cars increased by 10 days to 46.8 days compared to the July-August average – this was last seen in 2019.

They pointed out that the market for new cars fell by 9.3% in the first three quarters of the year, while imports of used cars have also fallen since the summer. Imports of used cars were down 11% year-on-year in August and 22% in September, they said, citing Datahouse data.

The portal indicated that the supply and demand of the cheapest segment, below HUF 500,000, is decreasing, as well as the number of people hoping to buy and offering cars for between HUF 1 and 1.5 million. Most buyers continue to filter between HUF 1.5 and 3 million. The share of those interested in the HUF 3-5 million price range increased slightly in the first half of the year, as did the share of those looking between HUF 5-10 and 10-20 million.

According to Mátyás Katona, an expert at Használtautó.hu, the earlier forecasts have become reality, with cars becoming a luxury item. More and more people in the cheaper price categories are thinking about replacing their cars, he added. The expert said that as demand falls and the supply on the used car market expands, the rise in prices will at most slow down, but not stop.