Real estate developers in Budapest have trouble selling garages which they are required to build in new apartment blocks, writes Napi.hu. While construction regulations in the city specify that the number of parking spaces has to at least match the the number of apartments units, most buyers do not opt to buy a space. Districts have a right to modify this regulation, however, and allow developers to defer a certain number of spaces in return for payments. The amount can be between a few hundred thousand forints to over Ft 2 million (€8,700) per slot, and this solution is generally welcomed by developers.
The problem has existed for several years, said Katalin Pfandler, co-chair of the National Association of Hungarian Apartment Builders (MALOSZ). She thinks there are thousands of unsold garage spaces in Budapest, which constitutes a problem for developers totaling several billion forints. InterEstate Zrt, which Pfandler leads, has around Ft 100 million tied up in such spaces, some of which have been waiting for a buyer for five years, and says she knows developers with problems twice as large, adding that she has not heard of a developer going under a result of the garage glut.
Otthon Centrum analyst Dávid Valkó thinks it is easy to understand that buyers of cheap apartments are not willing to pay for a parking space which can cost as much as 25% of the price of their new home.
In addition, in projects targeting price-sensitive buyers, it often happens that new owners postpone buying a parking space until they know how much capital they have left.
Selling garage spaces is also difficult because buyers have to pay a 10% levy on them.