About 60% of the Romanians who purchased homes in 2022 used their own funds, according to a study among real estate specialists conducted by RE/MAX. Meanwhile, 28% bought properties with a mortgage/real estate loan with a down payment of less than 15%, a 21% drop compared to the previous year.

Only 5% of the buyers used a mortgage loan with a down payment of more than 15%, 4% used a co-guarantor loan (of the First House type), and 2% made installments directly to the builder.

In terms of property type, 53% of the transactions in 2022 were for 2-bedroom apartments and 15% for 3-bedroom apartments. Compared to the year before, the share of 2-bedroom apartments remained roughly the same, but those with 3 rooms have decreased by 24%.

Next, but at a great distance, were the studios (9%) and houses in cities and rural areas (each with 8%).

The figures confirm that Romanians still prefer housing in the city, with most transactions being in the urban environment.

Most properties are bought between 1 and 6 months from the date of being put up for sale, which, according to the RE/MAX study, shows that Romanians prefer to wait, research the market and observe any price fluctuations. At the opposite poles, extremely good properties sell in less than a month, and those not priced right can wait more than 6 months. The average trading time for residential properties in the RE/MAX network is 67 days.

KIWI Finance specialists also joined the RE/MAX Romania initiative and analysed the evolution of real estate demand and supply in 2022. According to them, Romanians contracted about 84,000 mortgage loans worth roughly EUR 4 billion last year for more than 170,000 transactions. The average loan was 7% higher than in 2021 and 21% higher than in 2020.

As for 2023, experts’ opinion is divided on apartment and house prices. For example, 28% of respondents believe that apartment prices will decrease by up to 10%, 26% think that they will stagnate, and 23% say that they will increase by up to 10%. When it comes to house prices, 29% of specialists say that they will stagnate, and equal percentages of 24% believe that they will increase or decrease by 10%.

225 real estate specialists operating in 32 cities in Romania participated in the RE/MAX study in November and December 2022. Most work in the field as real estate agents or real estate agency managers.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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