The average asking price for old 3-room apartments in Bucharest reached EUR76,150 in January, up 2% or EUR1,600 from December 2014, according with ZF Real Estate Index compiled in partnership with real estate consultancy Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Romania, on the basis of Anuntul Telefonic ads.
Prices are close to the level of the summer of 2012, a sign the market has been quite stable over the past 30 months. Prices started declining in the spring of 2008 and the first increases were registered in 2014, but consultants say these have not reflected in the value of transactions.
“We haven’t seen an increase in trading prices that should follow the upward trend of owners’ asking prices,” said Ionut Balau, managing partner at Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Romania.
After four-five years of being almost frozen, the Bucharest market has started slightly moving. During the crisis, prices posted deeper declines than rents and amid the recently falling interest rates some young people decided to become owners.
Amid the return on the market of this category of buyers, but also of those regarding a house as a better financial placement than a banking deposit, construction activity posted a quite strong rebound, with deliveries of new houses rising by 64% in Bucharest-Ilfov area in the first nine months of 2014.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)