Darian head: Romanian assets' prices will not go up in the next five years

Darian company, specialised in property assessment, expects its 2010 turnover to stay at the level of 2009, of 10.5m RON (2.5m euros), while the market is likely to remain flat, at 25m euros. "I see no reason for a turnover increase this year, as investments are falling. The assessment market will stall at around 25-26m euros, sustained by banks' asset reassessment," stated Adrian Crivii, Darian general manager. Turnover in 2009 dropped by 25% from 2008, while the market lost over 20% during the same period. According to the company's data, 65% of turnover comes from banking assessment, and in the context where mortgage transactions dropped by over 60% in 2009, the company's results "are satisfactory for a crisis period". "I do not see an increase in Romanian assets' value for the next five years at least. The biggest problem was the price of land, with a very high speculative component, which led to a too strong increase in house sale prices. After the crisis fades away, a balance should emerge between the price per square metre and the average wage," Crivii added.