Houses abandoned by their foreign owners in South-Eastern Hungary are being invaded by rats, blighting the surrounding villages, writes penzcentrum.hu. According to the portal, around the middle of the last decade numerous houses and lots in Somogy County's picturesque Koppányvölgy valley were purchased by Austrian, German, Dutch and Swiss nationals. While some of these foreigners stayed and even assimilated, many have since cut and run, allowing vermin to take their place.

It's no secret that retail sales are weak in Hungary. But a new survey by market research organization GFK Hungária shows just how bad things are. As overall purchases of everyday consumer goods dropped by 3% in the second half of last year and people made markedly fewer shopping trips, sales of vinegar rose because people are using it in place of more expensive cleaning products. Gulp. [inforadio.hu]

There was an interesting piece a few weeks back on vg.hu about how the regulations forcing developers to build parking garage spaces may be negatively impacting the local residential property market. The piece features one Danny Bercovich, managing director of District XIII's Narancs Liget project, as saying that the prices of new flats in Budapest could be millions of forints lower if developers were able to allow market forces to determine how many garage slots they build, rather than being obliged to do so. Bercovich went on to say that in several recently-built lakóparkok, nearly 90% of apartments were bought, while 40% of garages remain unsold. Being someone who is naturally predisposed to letting the market govern decisions like this, I was initially sympathetic to Bercovich's argument. But after a bit of thought (and a few unreturned calls to him for further comment) I am not so sure.

Following the introduction of new regulations for professional property agents, real estate agents and appraisal agents late last year, individuals with one of these job descriptions will be required to possess a state approved National Training Notary (OKJ) license by May 10th or by May 25th at the latest, vg.hu reports. If a company offers any of these services, then at least one owner or employee must be fully licensed, with the regional notary carrying out annual checks. János Kiss, director of Perfekt Zrt. stated his belief that the new regulations will lead to many agents signing up for training courses to acquire these qualifications, meaning a sudden flood in applications for those offering the courses, just like how interest in graduate school spikes whenever the economy nosedives.