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.

Via the urbanista blog we discovered a rather unique piece of Budapest residential property currently being offered for sale on listings engine ingatlan.com. Here's a translated version of the owner's pitch: "Do you like remodeling? In Budapest's District VIII on Mátyás tér a 66-sqm, fourth floor (has elevator) apartment is waiting for you. Outside walls, two windows and security door are new, but there are no interior walls, because the flat has been burned out." The price is Ft 7.8 million (around €29,000), which may or may not strike you as a fire sale, depending on how burned you've previously been by supposedly hot Budapest properties before. Groan.

You really have to pity the poor Irish investors now sitting on Budapest property. It's bad enough that they had their expectations for making a killing on local real estate unjustifiably stoked when the market was on the up. But now it seems that they are getting equally poor information about how bad the market is while it's on the down. Just consider the below graph from this bizarre brief in today's Irish Times entitled "All quiet in Budapest" but which reads like it should have been entitled "Your money is all gone, Paddy, so just kill yourself":

In the previously moribund restaurant areas of Budapest, the Irish brought many evenings of good fellowship - and generous tips - to the newly opened diners, especially on the conclusion of investment deals. Alas, all's changed. Liszt Ferenz square, off the capital's Utca [sic], once a vibrant area of evening entertainment, is notably quiet, with only a handful of restaurants open, where two years ago there were dozens. Much of its clientele came from Ireland, as Hungary boomed with foreign investment after years of stagnation.

The Hungarian police last month launched an official investigation in relation to the "Design Terminál" - a planned center for innovation and design on Budapest's Erzsébet tér, hirszerzo.hu reports. According to documents created during an internal investigation, there were errors or malfeasances committed at every step of the project, which seeks to "repurpose" a historic (and legally protected) bus terminal in the central square built in 1949 and used until the early 2000s.