Two out of three buyers expect price increases in the residential market

„We note that two out of three buyers expect apartment prices to increase next year, a considerably higher percentage than in previous market measurements. We believe that this perception is rather realistic and is based on inflation that cannot bypass the real estate area, the increase in construction costs, the emergence of new projects with higher standards, and the lower supply of new ones,” said Daniel Crainic, marketing director of Imobiliare.ro.

According to the Imobiliare.ro Index, the average asking price for apartments for sale in Romania reached 1,909 euros/usable square meter at the end of September, after a 15% increase over the past year.

Buyers are paying the highest prices in Cluj-Napoca, Brașov and Bucharest. Apartments in Cluj ended up being sold almost 9% more expensive than at the beginning of last autumn. In Brașov, the average recorded at the residential market level is 2,223 euros/usable square meter, and in Bucharest it is 2,129 euros/usable square meter. Thus, annual increases of 12% and 18% respectively could be observed.

Owners and developers are also putting apartments up for sale at higher prices compared to September 2024 in Timișoara, Iași and Constanța. We are talking about costs 11%-13% higher per square meter.

Romania’s secondary residential markets

Increases were also observed in Romania’s secondary residential markets. In Sibiu, for example, the average asking price for apartments for sale increased from 1,727 euros/usable square meter at the beginning of last fall to 1,908 euros/usable square meter today. In Oradea, the average price advanced, in the same time frame, from 1,625 euros/usable square meter to 1,825 euros/usable square meter, according to the Imobiliare.ro Index.

Spectacular developments were also observed in the last year in Ploiești and Craiova, where the average asking price for apartments for sale increased by almost 17% and by about 19%, respectively.

Approximately 65% ​​of buyers expect housing prices to increase in the next year, according to a study conducted by Imobiliare.ro and the market research company Unlock Market Research. At the end of last year, less than half of buyers expected price increases in the real estate market.

Of those who believe that prices will continue to follow an upward trend in the coming period, half expect to see increases between 5% and 10%, while another 33% believe that price increases may exceed 10%.

The number of Romanians who still believe that prices could significantly decrease in real estate has decreased sharply compared to that recorded following a similar survey conducted by Imobiliare.ro at the end of 2024. If then 33% of respondents anticipated price decreases, now only 17% believe that housing could become more affordable.

Moreover, if then 71% of respondents believed that housing prices would decrease by more than 10% in the coming months, now only 34% still have such expectations.