Large-Scale Development of Zala County Reflected in Housing Prices

Zalaegerszeg’s (western Hungary) spectacular catch-up is not over, and this is also reflected in property prices. However, rents are still more affordable than in the capital city, reports Magyar Nemzet.

Zala county has a diverse range of assets and has the third largest number of settlements in the country, with the county seat coming to the fore last year. This is also reflected in the fact that while property prices in Zalaegerszeg were essentially stagnant in 2023, they rose by 17 percent between 2023 and February 2024, said László Balogh, chief economic expert at Ingatlan.com.

He added that

the city has become prominent in the labor market through defense industrial investment, and there is no end to the catching-up process, which could lead to further price increases.

Currently, the average price per square meter is HUF 567,000 (EUR 1,454), and the annual rate of increase is almost identical to the price increases in the real estate market between 2015 and 2022. Another interesting fact, according to the expert, is that while developers of new-build properties have opted to postpone in many places, the supply of new-builds in the county seat of Zala has tripled, with prices per square meter reaching HUF 1 million (EUR 2,565).

The other main city in the county is Nagykanizsa (western Hungary), where the average price per square meter is HUF 413,000 (EUR 1,059), and the difference between the average rent prices in these two cities is only HUF 4,000 (EUR 10), in favor of Nagykanizsa, where the average monthly rent is HUF 140,000 (EUR 359).

László Balogh noted that

in Zala county, salaries are not much lower than in the capital, but rents are lower, i.e. rents are more affordable.

The most expensive settlements in the county are clearly those on the shores of Lake Balaton, including Keszthely (western shore of Lake Balaton), also commonly regarded as the capital of the “Hungarian sea.” The average price per square meter on the Balaton coast is over HUF 1 million. In terms of rents, the lakeside settlements are the most expensive in Zala, clearly because of Lake Balaton and not because of high demand.

Zala County is also favored by its proximity to the western border and the motorway network to reach it.

According to the expert, the region’s real estate market is poised for a boom. A sign of this is that the supply of properties for sale has increased by a third, from 3,600 to 4,800 in a year.

According to Duna House’s aggregate data, clients in the county continued to choose homes with an average floor area of 78 square meters, for which they paid an average of HUF 32.2 million (EUR 82,598), Károly Benedikt, head of PR and analysis, noted. In Zalaegerszeg, the average amount spent on a home was about HUF 34 million (EUR 87,215). The second most sought-after municipality was Nagykanizsa, where 10 percent of all transactions in the county closed. They recorded a slight price increase there, while in Keszthely, a good number of new-build properties found buyers, pushing up the average price per square meter.

Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image via Facebook/Tourinform Zalaegerszeg