Bucharest Needs 140,000-170,000 New Homes To Catch Up With Warsaw, Prague, Budapest - Study

Romanian capital Bucharest has 404 apartments for every 1,000 people, and a further 140,000-170,000 need to be built before it reaches the level of other European capitals such as Warsaw, Prague and Budapest, according to a study by Colliers International.

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"With 404 flats for every 1,000 people, Bucharest is behind important capitals in Central and Eastern Europe. On the long term, Bucharest would need around 140,000-170,000 more homes to reach the level of the analyzed capitals (…), to cope with rising population and to gradually replace buildings older than 50 years, which should be taken out of use," says a Colliers press release.

Colliers consultants say, taking into account Bucharest's population growth and the low number of new buildings, that the need is getting more acute every year.

"The apartment deficit in Bucharest has intensified especially given the slower development of new buildings. Only 7% of the total homes completed in the four capitals between 2000 and 2008 are located in Bucharest," the press release says.

More than 11,000 apartments have been completed so far in Bucharest, with over 6,000 delivered last year. In 2008, the number of new apartments tripled, with 3,300 completed.

"Deliveries of new apartments were primarily a result of large projects (over 200 units) finalized between 2006 and 2007. This record number was reached after several projects rushed to completion, being already six to 12 months overdue and under pressure from buyers," the press release says.

According to Colliers data, a further 5,000 apartments are pending delivery in 2010, but some may be delayed.

"Since around 2,000 flats planned to be completed in the second half of 2009 have been delayed for the first part of this year, we expect plans for at least 30% of the homes to be delivered this year will fall through. The level of completed apartments will probably be lowest in 2011, somewhere between the 2007 and 2008 levels, depending on how many projects encounter delays this year and are postponed for 2011," Colliers consultants say.

Colliers forecasts 1,300 new homes in 2011, bringing the total number of new apartments in Bucharest to 17,300.

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