The residential market had a strong start in 2024, with the first quarter ending with an 18% increase in the number of residential transactions in Bucharest compared to the same period last year, according to Colliers data. In the rest of the country, the increase was slightly higher - 19%.

According to Colliers consultants, buying intentions remain high, as they expect the easing of the financial markets to boost housing demand. 

In cities or areas where fewer homes are set to be built in the coming period, this will put pressure on prices. However, at least for the first half of this year, Colliers consultants expect the residential market to balance supply and demand.

Gabriel Blăniță, Associate Director Valuation & Advisory Services at Colliers Romania, said: “Although March did not continue the trend of record sales years in 2021-2022, the market is not yet supportive of a significant acceleration in the number of transactions, especially as financing costs remain high. […] Barring any new major shocks affecting the demand for residential properties in the coming period, we expect the large month-to-month fluctuations typical of the post-pandemic years to be gradually replaced by more moderate and predictable fluctuations.”

Colliers said that, although the forecast indicates a decrease in the number of residential units delivered in Bucharest for both this year and the next, sales in the capital during the first three months of the year were approximately 18% higher than in the same period in 2023. This surge in demand is expected to exert pressure on prices in the medium term.

Among the major cities, in Cluj-Napoca, March didn’t match the sales momentum seen at the start of the year, but over the quarter as a whole, the trend was similar to that in Bucharest, with an increase of 18%, the same source revealed. 

“Considering Cluj’s status as the most expensive residential market in the country, Colliers consultants anticipate that achieving sales records from recent years will pose a challenge for some time unless there’s a notable acceleration in new housing development,” reads the press release.

“If we look strictly at the number of transactions and compare the beginning of 2024 with the record years, we see a decrease of 15%, while compared to 2017-2019, we see an increase of 20%. One of the reasons we don’t compare too often with the pre-pandemic years is that a lot has changed since then. For example, more than 400,000 homes have been built in Romania in the last six years, and an increase in the residential stock would also lead to an increase in the number of transactions. In addition, the average net national wage has doubled in the last 6 years, and GDP has increased by almost 70% over the same period. Housing prices have not remained flat but have increased significantly in large cities, especially for new construction,” Gabriel Blăniță concluded.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Colliers)