Állítsd be, hogy az Economx az elsők között legyen a Google-találatokban!
-Has property investment really become as bad a business as some reports indicate?
-The question always depends on what kind of product we are talking about, but above all we have to differentiate between institutional and retail investors, and also consider the question of "compared to what?" The general economic environment, and the current state of the world economy do not favour other forms of investment either, although there are some exceptions such as oil stocks or investments in environmental protection.
-Still, we are constantly hearing that foreign investors are departing or staying away.
-Those institutional investors who came to Central and Eastern Europe some 15 years ago looking for big profits but also taking on large risks, have now moved on in the wake of market consolidation and dwindling chances of making quick profits, and are now investing in Russia or in the Far East region. The Central European, and within this the Hungarian property market, has integrated fully into the European property market, is predictable and no longer exotic, and therefore not exciting for capital which is looking for easy and big profits. This is true for every segment of the property market and the entire area of Europe, although there are some differences. Based on the reports of Hungary's unfavourable economic situation, institutional investors may choose other countries in the region, but this would only mean a difference of half a percentage in yields, or a 0.5 euro change in rent levels, and if we disregard the present uncertainties, then the consensus is that we still have significant reserves. Neither rents, nor the quantity of office or logistics space delivered each year reach the European average.
-The new trends on the global property market mean challenges to market players even in of themselves, not regarding the economic environment.
-The turn toward being "green," efficiency, and the building on transport connections are all challenges, but at the same time opportunities as well for developers that present a chance to win market share, achieve higher rents and yields, and also make the given property more attractive as an investment product. As an investor, the question is always whether the given property will meet the needs of the end-user, and if the answer is yes, then the product is viable. Perhaps this is how we can best characterise the ever-stricter definition of a good product: if a building meets this condition, it is worth investing in for an institutional player.
And for retail investors?
-In my opinion the residential market is a good investment. Although yields are no doubt low, this is true for other investments as well. The market of used homes is an oft-forgotten secret investment opportunity, where especially now that the market is heading down, it is worth investing. Of course no great windfall should be expected, but properties are there to invest in and not to get rich on.
-The question is how long will the downward trend last?
New home prices cannot go below construction costs, and people have to live somewhere even in the general downward trend. This question of course cannot be separated either from looking at the specifics. A significant development of recent years is that we no longer speak of only square metre prices or the location in general, but about the given attributes of a specific property. Ten years ago, prices per square metre were around 100 thousand forints, with deviations of less than 20 percent from this value. Today there are square metre prices of 100 thousand as well as 2 million forints, and there can be significant differences even within a single building, so from an investor standpoint having a selection is the most important. So we cannot declare in general that the property market is in trouble, we can only say that there are sought-after and there are unmarketable products. But the residential market also has significant growth potential. The current average, 300-400 thousand-forint home prices are less than half the prices in Vienna, so there is room to develop, in price as well as in quality.
