The Romanian real estate market seems to have ended its decline caused by the global economic crisis.
At national level, prices for homes are on average 10% higher than last year, according to a dedicated portal on the web. In late November, the average asking price for apartments was 980 Euro per sqm, which is 52.4% lower than the market peak, in March 2008, when sellers generally asked for 2,058 Euro per sqm. The lowest pricing level was reached in December 2014, when median figures on the above mentioned portal were around 891 Euro per sqm, 10% lower than at present. The market for older apartments and newly built evolved differently. In Bucharest, for instance, a brand new apartment cost 1,155 Euro per sqm in late October, 55% lower than the March 2008 peak. By comparison, an older apartment is now, on an average, 1,043 Euro per sqm, almost 53% less than on the peak market.
At national level, prices for homes are on average 10% higher than last year, according to a dedicated portal on the web. In late November, the average asking price for apartments was 980 Euro per sqm, which is 52.4% lower than the market peak, in March 2008, when sellers generally asked for 2,058 Euro per sqm. The lowest pricing level was reached in December 2014, when median figures on the above mentioned portal were around 891 Euro per sqm, 10% lower than at present. The market for older apartments and newly built evolved differently. In Bucharest, for instance, a brand new apartment cost 1,155 Euro per sqm in late October, 55% lower than the March 2008 peak. By comparison, an older apartment is now, on an average, 1,043 Euro per sqm, almost 53% less than on the peak market.
One factor that encouraged the residential real estate market was the 2009 government program called 'First Home', which grants loans of up to EUR 70,000 with a down payments are only 5%, with below the market interest rates. The program was expanded, and the owners who used the First Home program could purchase a more spacious home with support from the National Loan Guarantee Fund for SMEs.
Romania right now is third in Central and Eastern Europe after Poland and the Czech Republic in terms of real estate transactions, which in the first ten months of the year amounted to 600 million Euro, according to a study published by Jones Lang LaSalle Romania. In 2014, real estate transactions in this country amounted to 1.15 billion Euro, a record figure for the last few years. This figure was, among other things, a result of the store chain Auchan taking over the Real chain of stores, a transaction between 260-280 million Euro.
