House prices were up slightly by 0.75% y-o-y in Q3 2019

The average selling price of apartments in Romania rose slightly by 0.75% during the year to Q3 2019, in contrast to a 0.13% decline in a year earlier. In a quarterly basis, Romanian real house prices rose strongly by 4.67% 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 increasing again, construction continues to rise

In Q3 2019, the total number of real estate transactions in Romania rose by 11% to 141,413 sales compared to the same quarter last year, according to real estate intelligence platform Analize Imobiliare. On the other hand, 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 economic growth slowed to 3% y-o-y in Q3 2019, down from the previous quarter’s 4.4% expansion and the weakest growth since Q2 2014, according to the INS. Though, it remains far above the EU’s average growth of 1.3%. The economy is projected to expand by 4.1% this year, from expansions of 4% in 2018 and 7% in 2017, according to the European Commission (EC).