The majority of Ukrainians found refuge in Poland, where their community is the largest in the region, and this was immediately felt in the real estate market there. Many Ukrainians also came to Romania, and in the cities where they settled, the rent was constantly increasing. And the government program, according to which those who accept refugees from Ukraine, receive 50 lei/day, has become a godsend for Romanians.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, almost 3 million Ukrainians have transited through Romania. According to the balance sheet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are about 87,000 left in our country. Of them, more than 7,000 have found work in production, construction, hotels and restaurants, car repair or in large stores.

Most Ukrainians left for cities in the north, near the border, to Constanta and Mamaia, as well as to the capital.

“After the start of the war, at the first stage, Romania was a transit country. People came for 2-3 days, stayed at the embassy to get documents, many did not have passports for their children, and then left,” explained Georgian Markou, realtor, owner of the Green Angels agency. HotNews and a member of the Professional Association of Real Estate Agents from Romania.

“At the second stage, Ukrainian refugees were looking for housing for 2-3 months, hoping that the war would end and they would return home. The problem was that the Romanian owners wanted to rent not for 2-3 months, but at least for a year. Rather, we found owners who would give us apartments for Ukrainians free of charge, covering the costs of communal services, rather than owners who would be ready to rent for a fee at the market price,” says Marku.

Realizing that the war would not end so quickly, refugees also began to rent long-term, especially in the upper price segment.

The highest monthly price increases in November last year (November 2022 vs. October 2022) were recorded in Constanta, where studios rose in price by 11%, and 3-room apartments by 10%. The price of studios in Oradea increased by 13%, and in Iasi – by 8%. In Bucharest, the growth is in 3-room apartments by 9%, according to a report by Storia.ro.

A 50/20 deal

“For the lower segment, a government program appeared with 50 lei per day for accommodation and 20 for food. The famous “50/20” program. Well, this program put a lot of pressure on cheap real estate because the owners were getting more money through this program, 50-20, than if they rented it long term at the market rate.

I will give an example: a villa appeared in the Pitesti district the other day. The villa accommodates up to 16 people. Do the math: 16 people x 50 lei/day means 800 lei/day or 24,000 lei per month, which is almost 5,000 euros per month.

Or let’s take the case of a 2-room apartment where 3 people come (mom, dad and a child, although usually they have two children each). Three people x 50 lei/day means 150 lei per day, or 4,500 lei per month. Almost €1,000/month, with an average rent of €300 if we’re talking about Bucharest,” says Markou.

Many properties have come off the market, and when supply falls, the price rises

In big cities, the market was badly affected. Many properties have come off the market, and when supply dwindles, the price usually goes up, a real estate broker says.

As for buying apartments, everything is more difficult here, because it is very difficult to transfer money from their banks to our banks. We had cases when a Ukrainian wanted to buy two apartments in Romania and had to return to Ukraine, take 10,000 euros, cross the border with them, then return and take another 10,000 euros and so on.

In Romania, purchases are made in the premium segment, not in the luxury segment.

In addition, many IT professionals who work remotely come to us, as well as many entrepreneurs from all areas of the economy – trade, industry, etc. – who prefer rents in the price range of 600-1000 euros.

Last year, a real estate broker estimated that there were 28,203 apartments available for rent in Bucharest. Over 1,300 houses in Ilfov. “I would estimate that this stockpile can hold 100,000-120,000 people. The next challenge for Bucharest will be to accept refugees from Ukraine in the medium term, when I say medium term I mean more than 2-3 days while they stay now to sort out their documents and move on. There are people who want to pay for rent at the market price, but they have nowhere to rent!!!”, Marku said then.

Ukrainians with a lot of money prefer France and Italy, what should they look for in Romania?

The French Riviera or Tuscany are the first choice of Ukrainians with money. Even President Zelensky allegedly bought a 15-room house in Tuscany, rented after the war for 50,000 euros to a Russian married to an Estonian, writes too local. The real estate agency that manages the villa denied this information, saying that there is a clause that prohibits it from being rented out to Russian clients.

The French press talks about purchases by Ukrainians worth millions of euros. “Immediately after the start of the war, we saw Ukrainians getting out of Bentleys and Porsche Cayennes, we were shocked by their numbers,” a real estate agent told a French weekly.

“We’ve had a huge wave of rental inquiries,” adds agency manager Barnes. Most often, a woman with children comes to visit, makes a choice, then the husband confirms the lease for sometimes dizzying amounts: “250,000 euros per month” for a “big villa.” Where does the money come from? “I don’t pay in cash. Gone are the days of big oligarchs with briefcases of banknotes. Most of them have bank accounts in Monaco, London, Cyprus, Malta…” – claims the head of the real estate agency.

It is reminiscent of the purchase of a building on the west coast of Cape Town by People’s Deputy Serhiy Lyovochkin for 35 million euros or the villa La Mauresque, the former residence of the British writer Somerset Maugham, by Ukrainian Dmytro Firtash for 50 million euros. . Among the latest deals is another villa, which is going to be sold for “twenty million euros”: the buyer is Ukrainian, the seller is Russian.

Photo source: DreamsTime