Housing trading prices in Romania dropped by 3.9 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of last year, according to the first real estate index published by the Romanian Institute of Statistics (INS). The data collected was based on information provided by notaries starting January 2009.

The drop in pricing was higher for houses, of 4.3 percent, while for apartments, it was of 3.8 percent. The quarterly index shows Bucharest housing witnessed a bigger decrease in pricing, of 5.7 percent, compared to the rest of the country, of only 1.6 percent.

The index measures the quarterly change in housing prices in Romania.