The pandemic did not spare it’s negative affect from the Hungarian capital’s rental market. While the renting of some type of apartments halted, despite an average price drop of 8% on rents, Flatco Real Estate Kft. managed to perform really well. Let us show you what happened!
During and after the pandemic
When the epidemic first struck, we didnu2019t even know what exactly to expect. The first change we saw after the immediate halt of tourism was in the city center, where 6th, 7th and 8th districts’ short-term rentals on airbnb or booking.com had frozen completely. While these short-term rental properties performed consistently well until February 2020, they had almost no visitors from March onwards u2013 as they were usually rented by tourists.u00a0
During the crisis, more and more owners switched to long-term leasing, but the surge in supply depressed prices in just a few days. The seriousness of the situation is shown by the fact that many medium-sized properties furnished from furniture houses, despite the reduction, didnu2019t have any potential tenant, even with only a one-month deposit. The situation slightly improved in June, and the arrival of foreign students in September will also help the numbers grow, but we were pleased to see that more and more tenants are choosing a different path.
A ray of hope during the crisis
We are proud to report that Flatco, owning more than 150 residential properties with an internal maintenance and property management teams, has kept almost 100% of its tenants. Of course, we also expected a serious decline, but our tenants and us carried on! If someone was temporarily in need, we helped with some financial rescheduling, but at the same time we are very happy that the vast majority of our tenants have insisted on keeping their affordable premium apartment.
We also experienced a few weeks of silence u2014 so the pandemic did threaten us as well u2014 but then gradually, interest began. It turned out that the paralysis caused by the unexpected influx of downtown Airbnb apartments did not reach the properties in the newly built, modern residential complexes located a little further from the heart of the city.
As a result, our popular apartments launched in April, which have smart home system, air conditioning and premium quality furniture by professional interior designers, have been rented out pretty fast. This means that in less than two months, our tenant community (the Flatcommunity if you will) has grown by 30 new tenants!
A new landlord is born
We are convinced that another factor has contributed to our success. We see a steady increase in the number of home seekers looking to rent from a professional company instead of individuals. The pandemic also brought a new problem to the surface: due to the crisis, many of the classic landlords leasing 1-2 apartments were forced to sell or significantly increase their prices, which of course is not good for any tenant. However, with our large portfolio and unique business model, we were able to remain predictable and reliable even in uncertain times, and our tenants visibly appreciated this.
We continue our work to offer our customers a quality, modern, nicely furnished premium apartments at a fair price. We insist on having a clear, understandable lease contract, transparent and secure payment, always ready customer service and a professional maintenance team either. Coronavirus or not, we want our tenants to find not just an apartment with us, but a real home!