House prices fell by 2.41% y-o-y in Q2 2019

The average selling price of apartments in Romania fell by 2.41% during the year to Q2 2019, the biggest y-o-y decline since Q2 2014. Romanian real house prices dropped 2.51% q-o-q during the latest quarter.

House price growth averaged 8.7% annually from 2015 to 2017 before slowing to 3.1% in 2018. Romania's strong performance over the past four years is a rebound from previous dramatic falls. House prices plunged by 24.22% in 2009, 22.08% in 2010, 6.99% in 2011, 5.96% in 2012, 10.43% in 2013, and 1.59% in 2014. It was only in 2015 that the housing market began to recover. 

Demand falling, but construction continues to rise

In Q2 2019, the total number of real estate transactions in Romania fell by 34% to 125,474 sales compared to the same quarter last year, according to real estate intelligence platform Analize Imobiliare. Meanwhile residential construction activity remains strong. In 2018, the number and area of residential building permits in Romania rose by 2.6% and 9.5%, respectively, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

Rents, rental yields: good yields at 6.07%

Bucharest apartment costs are low, at around €1,591 per sq. m.

Romania: typical city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Bucharest	€ 190,920	€ 966	6.07%

Recent news: Romania’s economy remains robust in Q2 2019, registering a real GDP growth rate of 4.4% year-on-year and 1% quarter-on-quarter – making it one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, according to the INS. The economy is projected to expand by 4% this year, after growth of 4.1% in 2018 and 7% in 2017, according to the European Commission (EC).