In July RA-APPS plans to organize a third auction to sell more than 23 apartments, villas, commercial spaces, and plots of land, after failing to attract any buyers in the past 18 months.
Despite real estate consultants advice that creating a real estate fund and list it on the stock exchange or transferring the service to private firms, would be better than selling the properties separately, ensuring greater transparency and bigger profits for the state, the Government passed an emergency decree in March allowing RA-APPS to sell assets for as much as 30% less than the initial asking price and even resort to direct negotiation.
RA-APPS estimates it will have total revenues of RON449.1 million this year, but asset sales are expected to amount to RON193.5 million.
Last year the Government drastically revised its expectations for RA-APPS asset sales from RON706 million to just RON296.2 million, but even so sales were below expectations as the authority only managed to sell 16 properties out 103 and revenues only amounted to RON39.3 million.
RA-APPS is in charge of around 650 government residences and offices, more than 75 villas and over 250 hectares of land, inherited from the former state apparatus of the Communist Party and now occupied by current or former dignitaries, or even their relatives.
In addition, the authority also manages dozens of commercial areas, farms and tourist units, of which the Triumf hotel in Bucharest, the Mara hotel in Sinaia, Clubul Floreasca, the Scrovistea complex and the Palat Snagov complex are among the most valuable.
According to official sources, the assets managed by RA-APPS are worth EUR0.5 billion – 1 billion.