The number of real estate transactions decreased both in Bucharest 9-24% y/y) and in the country as a whole (-31% y/y), in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, according to Ziarul Financiar quoting data from the National Bank of Romania (BNR) macroeconomic stability report.

In the 12 months to March 2023, the number of individual real estate transactions decreased by 12% y/y at the national level, while between April 2021 and March 2022, the number of deals on the residential real estate market had increased by 37%, according to BNR data. The decline thus seems to represent a mild correction.

The central bank highlights the fact that the activity in the residential real estate market registered a less pronounced decline in the last year compared to mortgage lending, which decreased by 20%.

"The share of mortgage loans in total real estate transactions decreased from 39% between April 2021 and March 2022 to 32% between April 2022 and March 2023, and is approximately 20 percentage points below the maximum in 2020," reads the latest BNR report on financial stability.

Demand was more robust in the Bucharest-Ilfov area, where the number of transactions was constant, while in the rest of the country, there was a decrease of 16% in the last year.

The decrease in Romanians' appetite for housing on credit in the first quarter of this year, in a context of high inflation and rising interest rates, was also seen in the figures on the volume of new mortgage loans. Already on the Romanian banking market, some banks looking for customers have launched all kinds of promotional offers for mortgage loan refinancing, with lower interest rates, fixed for several years.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Dreamstime.com)