This year, the amount spent on purchasing real estate on the Lake Balaton property market has exceeded the average in the capital, according to Duna House, but prices per square metre are still below those in Budapest.
Across the whole market around Lake Balaton, buyers spent an average of HUF 64.3 million (EUR 162,900) on property, HUF 60.9 million (EUR 154,200) on the South shore and HUF 67.7 million (EUR 171,000) on the North shore, more than double the amount spent in 2018 altogether. The availability of second-hand properties on the north and south coasts is almost equally distributed, 24.hu reports.
„During the pandemic, more people acquired property on Lake Balaton than usual, and now, taking advantage of the high price level and increasing buyer activity, many of them are trying to make a profit and are putting their holiday homes, family houses and apartments up for sale,” Károly Benedikt, head of PR and analysis at Duna House, said in a statement.
“It’s best to buy (property) when everyone is selling, and it’s worth starting the search while there’s still a wide range to choose from. Experts expect that due to the current high price level, the Balaton real estate market will see prices stagnate, or even slightly increase at a lower intensity than the national average, for the rest of the year, contrary to the general trend in the country,” Benedikt added.
Similar housing supply on the Nort and South coasts
An analysis of the latest supply data shows that the choice of available second-hand properties is almost equally distributed on both coasts of Lake Balaton. Of the properties with direct coastal access, 52% are located on the south coast and 48% on the north coast.
Based on data from the beginning of June, there is a 17% difference between the prices per square metre on the north and south shores, with currently advertised second-hand properties on the north shore at an average price of HUF 767,000 (EUR 1940) per square metre, while those on the south shore are currently advertised for HUF 653,000 (EUR 1650) per square metre on the property market.
Balaton property market prices catch up with the capital
According to this year’s sales data, while buying a home in Budapest costs HUF 60.4 million (EUR 153,000), those buying a house or apartment around Lake Balaton, including both second-hand and new properties, spent an average of HUF 64.3 million (EUR 162,900).
This means that although the price per square metre is still lagging behind, the Balaton property market is 6% above the average for the capital city in terms of the amount spent on property purchases.
Looking at the sales data by county, it can be seen that Veszprém is the second most expensive county in terms of price per square metre after Hajdú-Bihar, where the average price per square metre is HUF 585,000 (EUR 1482) with an average price of property of HUF 50.7 million (EUR 128,500). In Zala and Somogy, which also have coastal areas, the average price per square metre is HUF 390-434,000 (EUR 990-1100). However, the range of properties on Balaton is much wider than this, from those in habitable condition to luxury properties worth over a billion HUF.