Not everyone liked living close to Budapest, which is also evident from the fact that the agglomeration's range of family houses is increasing. Why did they want to move out of the capital back then, and why do people return to Budapest?
Everyone knows from the outside what are the buzzwords emerging in the public mind that lure real estate buyers to the agglomeration: a cleaner, quieter, calmer, greener environment, more living space inside and outside the property, and, of course, lower property prices.
Many people decided a few years ago, during the period of the Covid epidemic, to move out of the capital and settle in one of the agglomeration cities. At the time, many logical explanations could be lined up behind this step, but the situation has changed a lot since then. "Many of our customers reported that they did not get what they expected with the family house in the agglomeration, so more and more people would come back to Budapest," pointed out Balla Ingatlan.
All this is clearly shown by the fact that
there are more and more properties for sale in agglomeration settlements.
As a result of the expanding selection, the supply prices tend to stagnate, and the sales prices show a decrease, and a 15-20 percent bargain is not considered outrageous for a single transaction. Exceptions are well-distributed, renovated or brand-new, energy-efficient houses in a "frequented but quiet location". However, these types are an insignificant part of the supply market, the real estate office pointed out.
What are the reasons?
One of the defining reasons for the expansion of the agglomeration real estate offer that has just started is the agglomeration way of life itself, which not all emigrants were able to get used to. Commuting, driving and public transport are the biggest problems. Commuting is becoming more tiring and time-consuming due to the heavy traffic and traffic jams, and it is also more and more expensive due to the constantly rising fuel prices.
And the situation is only getting worse, as more and more people are moving to the settlements around Budapest, while the road network is not at all adapted to the increased needs. In addition, from the first of January, the previously free sections of the M0 motorway became tolls, which leads many people to the surrounding, inferior roads, and this causes traffic jams even worse than before in the affected settlements and their surroundings.
And the problem only increases when the children – as they are usually families – have to be taken to school, kindergarten, training, among other things. In fact, there are not necessarily suitable educational institutions in the given agglomeration settlement, so parents are often forced to take their children further away, even to Budapest, on a daily basis.
A typical problem is that the capacities of nurseries, kindergartens, and schools have not kept up with the growing population of the settlements, but families often have special needs that make the locally available institutions not a suitable choice.
Even shopping can be a problem
Another problem is the scarcity and narrowing of the retail supply. A process confirmed by statistical data is the drastic decrease in the number of retail units, which primarily affects smaller shops, including in smaller settlements.
However, for many, shopping is not necessarily limited to going to a distant shopping center accessible by car - of which there are plenty in the agglomeration - once a week, but sometimes making small purchases in local stores. Because something is needed quickly. And in most of the agglomeration settlements, this cannot be done without driving. Not to mention that even if there is a smaller store, it is much more expensive than the big commercial chains.
The latter is related to the closures, as the costs of retailers have increased in recent years to such an extent that it is no longer acceptable for many. And to manage costs, they have to keep their prices high. In any case, the process is not favorable for the people living in the agglomeration, as it means that retail trade is also concentrated in one frequent location, which the people living in the agglomeration settlements can only reach by car.
It is no different with health care: not every settlement can reach a family doctor with a few minutes' walk or some public transport, as in Budapest, and the same applies to specialist clinics. Utilities are another problem: sewer, water, electricity. Particularly affluent agglomeration settlements are also regularly affected by water shortages, and this does not only affect the western parts.
All of this is also a significant problem for the real estate market, since in the case of some settlements, the fear of a possible water shortage is noticeably restraining interest.
The listed problems are also faced by several settlements, for example, Érdre has had the "excessive" sign removed: the town management has therefore prohibited the construction of multi-apartment apartment buildings. Törökbálint faces a new 500-apartment housing estate.
They would go back disappointed
According to the experience of Balla Ingatlan's experts, the difficulties of life in the agglomeration are not sufficiently appreciated by those who move out of apartments in Budapest condominiums.
They just want something, but they are often even surprised by the fact that maintaining the garden and the house consumes time and money, and also how much higher the costs of maintaining and renovating a family house are than those of an apartment in a condominium.
In addition, in many cases, it is not necessarily true that an agglomeration neighborhood is quiet, because in certain parts, on the one hand, there is considerable car traffic, and on the other hand, there are noises associated with maintenance activities - such as lawn mowing, flexing - or even the constant barking of dogs.
These factors also contribute to the fact that the real transaction prices in the agglomeration - after some serious bargaining - started to approach the so-called realistic, reasonable price compared to real estate prices in Budapest. Gone are the days when real estate prices in the settlements near the capital were almost the same as those in the outermost districts. Perhaps this is not yet so visible in the offer prices, but much more so in the sales prices, concluded the real estate office.
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