Romanian credit broker Kiwi Finance, part of the OLX Group, has launched the first housing affordability index that takes into account the salaries paid in different localities, Ziarul Financiar reported. It reflects the average price of the residential properties (apartments and houses), per square meter, expressed in average monthly wages.

Bucharest has among the most affordable housing in Romania, and Cluj and Constanţa are the most expensive.

Bucharest is one of the most affordable cities in Romania and ranks first among the major cities in the EU in terms of the residents’ capacity to buy a home, while Constanta and Cluj have the least affordable housing nationwide but still remain well-positioned at the European level, the study shows.

The national average is now 1.8, up from 4.5 in 2008. The index shows that in December, at the national level, the average price was EUR 1,289 per sqm, the equivalent of a multiple of 1.8 times the average net salary, which indicates the highest affordability since 2004.

During the real estate bubble in 2007-2008, the index reached 4.5-5. The current level indicates a state of equilibrium, a state that Romania has stayed for several years already.

According to the Kiwi Finance real estate index, in Bucharest, the average price per sqm of housing properties is EUR 1,486, while the average net salary in the capital city is RON 4,612 (about EUR 932), which results in an affordability index of 1.59, a level not seen in the past 15 years. The houses in Bucharest are thus about three times more affordable than in 2007-2008.

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andrei@romania-insider.com