Overall, housing prices decreased by 8.2%, the survey shows.
Unlike 2011 and 2012, which brought stable housing prices, the year 2013 witnessed a higher decline, with prices of new and old apartments on sale falling by 8.2%, imobiliare.ro said in a statement.
The average asking price currently stands at EUR898/sqm, compared to EUR978/sqm at the beginning of 2013. The price decline in 2013 is 50% higher than the price decreases registered in 2011 and 2012 when housing prices went down by 4% (in 2011) and 1.3% (in 2012), respectively, according to data by imobiliare.ro.
The decline in housing prices over the past 12 months in Romania’s largest cities is below the national average. In most cases, the price decline starts with new apartments.
Of all large cities in Romania, Bucharest boasts the highest decline in housing prices, with the average asking price for apartments on sale falling by 6.7% over the past 12 months, from EUR1,138/sqm to EUR1,062/sqm. Prices of old apartments decreased by 6.1%, going below the threshold of EUR1,000/sqm, down to EUR982/sqm, compared to EUR1,046/sqm at the beginning of 2012. New apartment prices saw an even higher decline, of 7.4%, in 2013, from EUR1,278/sqm to EUR1,184/sqm.
Central city of Brasov places second in terms of housing price decreases, with a decline of 4%, from EUR857/sqm a year ago to EUR823/sqm currently.
In northeastern city of Iasi, the average asking price for apartments on sale fell 3% in 2013, from EUR811/sqm to EUR787/sqm. Old apartment prices went down by 3%, from EUR769/sqm to EUR746/sqm. Iasi is the only city in Romania where asking prices for new apartments were on upward trend in.
Housing prices in northwestern city of Cluj-Napoca are comparable with the ones in Bucharest, as the decline was milder. The average housing prices reached EUR871/sqm in 2013, down 2.8% from EUR896/sqm in 2012. Old apartment prices inched up 0.4% over the past 12 months, from EUR966/sqm to EUR970/SQM. However, asking prices for new apartments on sale fell by 3.4%, from an average EUR825/sqm to EUR797/sqm.
Housing prices in southeastern city of Constanta decreased by 2% in 2013, from EUR856/sqm to EUR839/sqm. The highest decline was registered by old apartments whose prices reached an average EUR832/sqm in 2013, down 2.6% from a year before.
Timisoara is the only city where housing prices have been on upward trend over the past 12 months. Over, new and old apartments in the city rose 1% on the year in 2013, reaching an average EUR793/sqm.