The maximum drop in price for apartments with one or two rooms is by 46% and 33% for apartments with three to four rooms for the residential market in Bucharest, 2009, according to a research performed by Darian Rom Suisse, a consultancy company. The rents in Bucharest currently pay for their 2007 value.
"Lands recorded a similar dramatic drop in price, which will resume", the company's representative, Adrian Crivii, said. According to him, the real estate market should only consider RON (lei), Romania's national currency. Other Romanian cities saw an 18-24% drop in their euro value and a 20-25% drop in their lei value.
Ion Bejan, consultant for Institute for Real Estate and Construction Wien:
- I support the need for the authorities to project and adopt a long-term policy for the real estate sector. A dwelling is not only an investment, but also a fundamentally human need.
- Unfortunately, the people in power talk about properties as if every single individual must be a home-owner. 55% of the German population rents. Nobody talks about housing for the disadvantaged: young people, relocating individuals and people with small incomes.
- The First House scheme is to be appreciated, but it accentuates property debates, when we know that less then 10% of the population can afford such a significant credit.
Possible European finance:
- The housing construction sector could be financed by the European Fund for Regional Development only if it is included in an integrated scheme for urban development.
- The European Investment Bank initiative and the Commission's Jessica programme, which has not been yet implemented in Romania, allows for housing construction, but also in an integrated urban development scheme.
