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Demand in Szeged’s housing market grew by 66 percent year-on-year in January, well above the average. This is clearly the result of the announcement of the BYD investment, and the market foresees above-average price increases for both apartments and houses for sale and rent this year. Rental prices for apartments and houses could rise by up to 30 percent in this city within a year or two.
Szeged (southern Hungary) has already jumped to second place behind Debrecen (eastern Hungary) in terms of the number of inquiries for second-hand residential property for sale in January among the cities and county towns. The future site of the BYD investment is already in first place in the increase, with more than 60 percent more inquiries, László Balogh, representative of real estate advertising site Ingatlan.com, summarized the demand data for Világgazdaság. In Szeged, the median value of used apartments and houses for sale is already HUF 670,000 (EUR 1,735 / 1 EUR=386 HUF) per square meter, only 30 percent behind Budapest.
Even though Szeged is a much smaller city than Budapest, current price levels are already not considered cheap. Based on Ingatlan.com‘s housing price index, in Debrecen, the average house price increase was five percent in 2023, and Szeged, with its three percent rise, could soon catch up.
Compared to the region, Szeged was already an “island” with a rather different trend that had nothing to do with the BYD investment.
However, the news of the electric car plant’s investment, of course, immediately boosted demand, rising 66 percent in the first three weeks of January compared to the same period a year earlier.
Elsewhere, interest in apartments and houses for sale has also picked up significantly, with the housing market starting the year with a strong performance. Demand rose by 22 percent nationally and by 25 percent year-on-year in county towns and cities. According to the expert, the surge in demand in Szeged is undoubtedly the impact of the electric car plant.
Investors will not wait for the higher prices and the completion of the investment, they will move sooner,”
predicted László Balogh.
Rents are also expected to become much more expensive in Szeged. Currently, rents in the city are in the mid-range with a median of HUF 140,000. The most expensive cities to rent are Budapest, Győr (northwestern Hungary) and Debrecen, topping the price list in December 2023, with monthly rents of HUF 240,000, HUF 200,000 and HUF 190,000 respectively. It is telling that Győr and Debrecen are both centers of investment in the automotive industry, meaning that giga-investments are also driving up rental prices. The fourth highest average rent is in Székesfehérvár (central Hungary), a city with an industrial background.
Another advantage for investors is that Szeged, like Debrecen, is also a major university town. As the economic expert says,
there is a chance of a 30 percent increase in rents in the next one or two years in the city, the future home of the electric car plant.
Via Világgazaság, Featured image: Pixabay
