The pandemic's impact on the luxury real estate market

The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the world’s scenario in the past few months. Basically you can hardly find fields that wasn’t affected, including the Hungarian luxury real estate market. Zoltán Hamza, the managing director of BARNES Hungary discussed the topic with the journalist of Roadster Magazine.

In Hungary, it’s only been the last three years when we can talk about luxury real estate market, basically it’s still emerging, but there have been many investments and developments in the premium districts that have enabled us to move towards Western European standards.

There is no significant change or decline in this segment. We are talking about a very niche group of investors, so the owners/buyers who work in this sphere are far from being price-sensitive. Moreover, in the current situation, it’s positive that the online presence and the entry into the online market have been fully accelerated by the epidemiological situation. Thus, the development that was estimated for the upcoming years, began rapidly: online signatures, digital documents, online home visits have come into focus.

Price adjustment and cleansing on the market are projected for the coming years in the luxury market. Only the real estate companies that can reach the standards of Western European or American service will be left standing. In Hungary, the profession has been diluted in the recent years and in many cases the properties have been overpriced. As a result, the period during and after the virus situation is likely to be a strong filter.

The most important issue, like in other sectors, is the future. Changes are also expected in the luxury market of course, which will affect the supply and the service sector itself. For now, what we see is a positive shift in the minds of the Hungarian developers. The credo that when we do something, let’s do it well, only in the highest quality. The improvements that take place in the luxury category are all very high and reliable quality. This also attracts the fact that the level of service must also increase dramatically.

This process will certainly take some time. We have to work according to standards that can be functional in the long run, and also a change of approach has to happen. Our main goal is to introduce an international, high-quality approach, mentality and attitude in the profession in Hungary.

The article is based on the Roadster interview.