Despite falling prices in the Belváros – Budapest’s District V – apparently not many people want to move there, mfor.hu reports. Analysts say that before the crisis broke out, the Belváros was one of the most overpriced neighborhoods in the Hungarian real estate market. Back then, flats went for between Ft 450,000 and Ft 500,000 (€1,600-€1,800) or even more per square meter. As a result of the crisis, foreign buyers and renters deserted the district in fall 2008, and Hungarians are less willing to take out loans now than two and a half years ago. This means that currently, luxury apartments – especially those costing hundreds of millions of forints – are nearly impossible to sell.
In the neighborhood, the average asking price is still around Ft 450,000 (€1,600) per sqm, but 30% to 40% of apartments for sale are offered for less than Ft 350,000 per square meter, even for flats close to the Hungarian Parliament.
Two of the most expensive apartments currently for sale in the district are a 660-square-meter flat in a building with a Danube view for Ft 660 million and a 138-square-meter home with a panoramic view of the Parliament for Ft 99.5 million.
By comparison, the cheapest apartments in the area – small, first-floor flats with a view of an inner courtyard – cost around Ft 10 million. There is some selection between Ft 15 million and Ft 18 million and a real selection between Ft 20 million and Ft 40 million. For the latter price, the flat may have a panoramic view of Buda or the Danube, but is likely to be in a building that, like the overall market itself, has seen better days.
via Downtown Budapest residential property still way down: Realdeal.hu.
In Boedapest 