Sursa foto: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
Sellers on the Romanian residential market continued to increase asking prices for apartments in the first quarter of 2021. The latest report by Analize Imobiliare, the platform launched and supported by Imobiliare.ro, reveals that between January and March, the listing values of the residential properties in Romania (apartments, but also houses) recorded a quarterly advance specific to normal market conditions, despite the pandemic and the necessary restrictions in this context. Specifically, the average asking price for apartments and houses increased by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter. And compared to the same period in 2020 there have been increases in asking prices across the board, in all major cities
Prices have risen in all major cities
All 11 large cities (with over 200,000 inhabitants) constantly monitored by Real Estate Analysis recorded, in the first quarter of 2021, an increase in the average asking price for apartments. Unlike the previous three months, when growth margins were, with one exception, below the 2% threshold, at the beginning of 2021 several regional centers managed to exceed this threshold.
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Thus, the most significant quarterly advance was recorded in Galați (+ 3.2%, up to 1,000 euros per useful square meter), on the next places in the ranking of price increases being Brașov (+ 3.1%, up to at 1,260 euros per square meter), then Oradea (+ 2.8%, up to 1,090 euros per square meter), Brăila (+ 2.5%, up to 890 euros per square meter), Ploiești (+2 , 3%, up to 960 euros per square meter), Constanța (+ 2.1%, up to 1,280 euros per square meter), Cluj-Napoca (+ 1.9%, up to 1,850 euros per square meter useful), Craiova (+ 1.6%, up to 1,200 euros per square meter), Timișoara (+ 1.3%, up to 1,290 euros per square meter), Iași (+ 1.3%, up to 1,090 of euros per square meter) and, finally, the Capital (+ 0.4%, up to 1,480 euros per square meter). It is noteworthy that Bucharest recorded, last quarter, the most significant advance among major cities, namely + 2.1%.
Demand remained stable in the first 3 months of 2021
As a result of the changes caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for residential properties (apartments and houses available for sale) was lower in the last quarter compared to the same period in 2020 – ie before the outbreak, say the authors of the analysis. Thus, approximately 132,400 potential buyers searched, on Imobiliare.ro, for housing in the six largest regional centers of the country. This figure is similar to that recorded in the previous three months but shows a decline of 16% compared to the first quarter of the previous year.
In Bucharest, the demand for residential properties has increased by 5% in the last year, the number of potential buyers reaching 96,000 people. An analysis of the evolution of demand for housing (apartments and houses) in the Capital reveals that this indicator started in 2021 at a level similar to that of 2020, after which the interest from potential buyers remained practically stable – unlike last year when a downward trend has been evident since February. The same balance can be observed in other regional centers, respectively Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, and Iasi. In the context created by COVID-19, it is noticeable the maintenance of high interest not only for the purchase of houses but also for land.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, a year ago, working from home has become a normality for many Romanians. The decisions of companies to generalize and expand the way they work remotely and in the future have positively influenced the intention to purchase houses and land for construction, so that distance from work has become a less important factor in the buying decision. In Ilfov and Cluj counties, interest for construction land acquisition has doubled in the last year, while in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, it has increased by up to 30%, “said Niță.
Trading activity has intensified
In terms of real estate trading, the year 2021 started on a positive note as well, despite the difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, data published by the National Agency for Cadastre and Real Estate Advertising (ANCPI) and centralized by Real Estate Analysis show that in the first quarter of this year 149,031 properties were sold nationwide, up 11.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. It is noteworthy that in the segment of individual units there was an even more significant advance, amounting to 42.7%, to a total of 40,043 properties.
“A significant share of transactions in the residential real estate market is financed by credit. The index on access to the mortgage market highlights the fact that a typical household has, according to data as of December 2020, at national level, about 71% of the income needed to purchase a 2-room home. In Bucharest, starting with 2013, the accessibility index has become superunitary, respectively the income of a family has become enough to afford to buy a home. […] Without recourse to financial support through a bank loan, the time required to purchase a 2-room dwelling nationwide is about 8.5 years, and in the case of a 3-room building the duration increases to over 11 years (data in December 2020) ”, says Simona Iftimie, Economist, Financial Stability Department – National Bank of Romania.
11% higher offer than last year
Compared to the previous quarter, the total supply of apartments and houses (built before 2000) available for sale in the six major regional centers of the country was, in Q1 2021, 15% higher – this was, more precisely, at 15,750 offers, compared to 13,690 in the previous three months. In the context of a health crisis, however, compared to the similar period of the previous year, a positive difference of about 11% can be observed.
Over the last 12 months, all six major cities analyzed have seen increases in the residential supply on the market – the growth margins being, in most cases, double-digit. Thus, the largest advance, amounting to 14.2%, took place in Bucharest, where 7,550 residential properties were put up for sale last quarter; an increase of 14% was felt, on the other hand, in Constanța, where, in January-March a total of 1,160 ads were posted. An annual increase of 13.7% took place in Timisoara (where 2,330 properties were put up for sale), the city in the southwest of the country being followed by Brasov (with an increase of 11.2%, up to 1,050 offers ). On the other hand, increases in the supply of less than 10% were registered in Iasi (an increase of 7.5%, up to 1,230 offers) and, respectively, in Cluj-Napoca (an advance of only 0.7% , up to 2,430 ads).