Centralized data regarding 27 transactions with medium and large-sized plots of land show the volume of investments in lands reached EUR194 million in 2020, down 6.5% versus the previous year.
The combined surface area of lands transacted in 2020 reaches some 1,930,000 square meters (193 hectares). The biggest lands were bought by do-it-yourself Dedeman, which secured 64-hectare land plot in Stefanesti, in the vicinity of logistics park WDP Park 2, and by regional investment fund SIF Banat Crisana, which bought the IMGB industrial platform in Berceni, of 54 hectares.
“The share of Romanian-held buyers doubled on the year to 81% in 2020 and the focus shifted from office hubs, which were some of the most active in the past years, towards the outskirts, where trading prices are lower,” the report reads.
According to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox analysts, the unpredictability of the general and local legislative framework affects the image of the market, especially when it comes to foreign investors, which, over the past 20 years, have had a significant contribution to the development of all segments of the real estate market.
Despite the pandemic context, the unemployment rate in capital Bucharest remained constant at 1.2% throughout 2020, while the average net salary grew 7.6% in lei in December 2020 compared with the same month in 2019. Also, the number of transactions with individual units (especially homes) rose 5% throughout 2020, in Bucharest – Ilfov area. The interest in more spacious homes in the second half of 2020 offset the semi-blockage during the lockdown period, the report also shows.