Property rental prices squeezed across the board

Although the property market has been hit hard by the recession, the market of for-rent apartments has livened up in Budapest and Hungary’s major university towns thanks to students, writes napi.hu. However, as a mark of the lack of demand, owners are willing to lower rents by as much as 30%. Duna House Analyst Ákos Murányi said foreigners are willing to pay €400 to €500 or even more a month for an apartment in Districts V and VI if it meets their requirements. Meanwhile, more cash-strapped Hungarians will find plenty of apartments in the Ft 40,000 to Ft 50,000 (€150 to €180) category. Apartments in new buildings, such as District XIII’s Cézár-ház, Római-kert and Kleopátra-ház cost between Ft 100,000 to Ft 150,000 per month. Availability is also high in Buda, said Kala és Társa Ingatlanhasznosító Kft. Co-Owner Mrs. Imré Kala, and owners are ready to lower monthly rents by 30% in some cases. In the top category, she said prices had fallen from €4,000 to €3,000. In Szeged, downtown flats – which are mostly rented by foreign students – cost €300 to €500 per month plus overheads, Limit Ingatlanhasznosító Office Director Zsuzsa Bátyiné Mester said. In Pécs, flats near the university cost Ft 40,000 to Ft 70,000 per month. In Debrecen, where rents have not risen since last year, a downtown, 1.5 to 2-room flat costs around Ft 40,000 per month. In the Transdanubian town of Veszprém, apartments in brick buildings near the university can be rented for Ft 40,000 to Ft 60,000 per month, while panel flats cost Ft 28,000 to Ft 40,000, said In-Structor Ingatlaniroda.