Apartments in Cluj-Napoca are the most difficult to sell, if we talk about the duration of stay on the market in comparison with similar real estate in other large cities of the country. Owners and developers have had to wait around 3-4 months for a buyer since 2020, while the time it takes to sell has remained relatively constant, according to Imobiliare.ro.

Homes in Timisoara spend more time on the market. At the beginning of last year, the apartment was sold in 56 days, so by the end of 2023, the time to find a buyer will reach 69 days.

The sales period for apartments in Brasov remained constant from 2020 to mid-2022, only to accelerate until the middle of last year, when owners needed about 80 days to identify buyers. However, the last two quarters have seen a decrease in this section, the time it takes to sell an apartment in Brasov is about two months.

Iasi: At the end of 2020, it took owners 47 days to find buyers for homes listed for sale. At the end of last year, the period for selling apartments in Iasi increased to 68 days.

Konstanza: Those who want to find a buyer for a house on the shores of the Black Sea need more than a month more than owners in the capital.

In the capital’s housing market, the period of sales decreased to only 35 days, which is the lowest value of this indicator in the last five years. Uncertainty in the credit market and the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine subsequently forced buyers to consider their options more carefully before buying. At the moment, an apartment in Bucharest is sold in a maximum of two months.

Briefly about the article

• A new record was broken in Cluj-Napoca, where it is most difficult to sell apartments.

• A new wave of promotions is pushing Oradea ahead of Timișoara, a city where you can now find one of the most affordable housing relative to the income earned by residents.

• Brasov registered the most significant price growth over the past year among the main housing markets in the country.

• The capital is back in the red, but owners need twice as long to sell their apartments.

• Constanța is starting to compete with Bucharest in terms of the prices buyers ask, but not in terms of the time it takes to identify them.

• Craiova and Sibiu are becoming increasingly expensive cities, while Iași is becoming the cheapest large regional center in Romania.

• The housing market in the country’s only major secondary city is stagnating. In Ploiesti, prices increased by 0.2% over the year.

“The residential real estate market continues to surprise, exceeding expectations, even at the beginning of the year when, based on the increase in the VAT rate on new homes, many analysts expected a decrease in interest. The increase is all the more evident as it also occurs in smaller cities, and in this respect we particularly note Oradea, where the average price exceeds the threshold of 1,500 EUR/m2 for the first time. Despite this, Romanian buyers are still privileged in terms of housing affordability compared to other European countries,” said Daniel Krajnic, Marketing Director of Imobiliare.ro.

Due to the constant increase in prices, apartments in Cluj-Napoca are more difficult to sell than in other cities

According to Indicele Imobiliare.ro, the average asking price for apartments listed for sale on the housing market in Cluj-Napoca reached €2,666/usable square meter at the end of last month, the highest level recorded in Romania.

Buyers are now paying 10% more for a home compared to the price they would have paid if they had made the purchase decision last February, when credit market conditions were not as favorable as they are now.

Apartments in Cluj-Napoca are also the hardest to sell, considering the length of time they stay on the market compared to similar properties in other major cities in the country. Owners and developers have had to wait around 3-4 months for a buyer since 2020, while the time it takes to sell has remained relatively constant, according to Imobiliare.ro.

Oradea overtook Timisoara to become the second most expensive city in the west

One of the surprises of February comes from Oradea. The average price of apartments put up for sale on the local housing market increased by 15% compared to the same period last year and reached 1,550 euros/usable square meter.

Timisoara, a large real estate and business center in the west of the country, dropped to third place in the list of the most expensive cities in the region. In the city on the Beza, we find, at the moment, one of the most affordable housing in the country in relation to the income received by the residents.

The pace of price growth has been very slow over the past 12 months compared to other major cities analyzed by Imobiliare.ro. After growing by just 4%, the average asking price locally was around €1,544/usable square meter at the end of February.

However, it is worth noting that despite the affordability, houses in Timisoara spend more time on the market. At the beginning of last year, the apartment was sold in 56 days, so by the end of 2023, the time to find a buyer will reach 69 days.

Impressive prices are also on the housing market in Brasov

The most significant increase in prices among the largest housing markets in the country could be observed in the last 12 months in Brasov. The 15% increase took the average asking price for apartments in the residential market at the foot of Tampere from €1,580/usable square meter in February 2023 to €1,815/usable square meter at the end of last month.

The average price for new homes, however, is at a much higher level, around 2,110 euros/usable square meter, according to Indicicelui Imobiliare.ro.

The sales period for apartments in Brasov remained constant from 2020 to mid-2022, only to accelerate until the middle of last year, when owners needed about 80 days to identify buyers. However, the last two quarters have seen a decrease in this section, the time it takes to sell an apartment in Brasov is about two months.

Bucharest is back on the plus side

After some decline recorded in recent months, asking prices for apartments in the capital are also beginning to follow an upward trend.

Buyers have to pay €1,663/usable square meter for a house in Bucharest, and they are now paying almost 7% more than they would have paid if they had bought a similar property at the beginning of last year.

At the end of 2020, the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic eased, and the capital’s housing market reduced the time to sell to just 35 days, the lowest value of this indicator in the last five years. Uncertainty in the credit market and the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine subsequently forced buyers to consider their options more carefully before buying. At the moment, an apartment in Bucharest is sold in a maximum of two months.

With rising prices, Constanța is getting closer to Bucharest

Apartments in Constanta are sold at an average price of €1,624/usable square meter and are now 10% more expensive than in February 2023.

In the case of seaside houses in buildings built after 2020, the average price is around 1,800 euros/usable square meter, according to Indicelui Imobiliare.ro.

If in terms of prices, Constanta is close to Bucharest, then in terms of the time required to sell an apartment, everything is completely different. Those who want to find a buyer for housing on the Black Sea coast need more than a month more than owners in the capital.

Craiova and Sibiu are increasingly expensive for buyers

At the end of last month, Craiova was in fifth place in the ranking of the most expensive cities in the country for buyers. According to Indicelui Imobiliare.ro, the local housing market has seen growth of almost 2% since the beginning of this year alone.

And in the case of the city of Sibiu, we can observe an accelerated trend of price growth. Apartments put up for local sale in February 2023 were sold for 1,440 euros/sq.m. Now, owners and developers are asking an average of 1,571 euros/sq.m.

The cheapest large regional center of the country

Even though buyers in Iasi currently pay 9% more for the apartments they buy, local prices are kept at a very low level. You pay €1,532/usable square meter for an apartment in Iasi, which is below the national average of €1,542/usable square meter.

At the end of 2020, it took landlords 47 days to find buyers for homes listed for sale. At the end of last year, the period for selling apartments in Iasi increased to 68 days.

A city where prices have stagnated

Apartment prices in Ploiesti have stagnated over the past year. Local buyers can consider themselves privileged, as the average offer from owners and developers is around €1,087/usable square meter, according to Indicicelui Imobiliare.ro. It is possible to note the development of a new residential segment, in this case, especially in settlements on the outskirts of the city.