The prices of three-room flats have already gone up by almost 5% compared with the end of last year, and will maintain their upward trend, some of the experts on the real estate market say. The average price per square metre has reached almost 1,300 euros, from the 1,240 euros in December last year.
"The rise began at the end of last year and will continue in both the central areas and in the outskirts, because there is great demand from medium income people," says Ion Botis, the representative of real estate agency Property Partners.
A three-room apartment costs about 3,000 euros more on the average now than it did at the end of last year, according to the information from anuntul.ro, the biggest specialist publication in Romania. The average price in Bucharest's Berceni area went up by 1,500 euros for an about 80 square metre flat, while in Brancoveanu area, which is closer to the city centre, the increase reached almost 4,000 euros.
Price hikes were also registered for areas such as Dristor, Militari and Crangasi, as well as for central areas like Unirii, Victoriei, Calea Mosilor and 1 Decembrie.
Prices have gone up by 40% on the average since the beginning of last year, and a three-room flat in the Unirii area now costs almost 160,000 euros compared with 120,000 euros, while a flat in Dristor costs 88,000 euros compared with 52,000 euros last year.
Moreover, the three-room flats are the least exposed to fluctuations. Prices for studios and two-room flats have increased even more and doubled in some cases. A studio in the 13 Septembrie area costs about 60,000 euros from 35,000 euros at the beginning of 2006, while a studio in Berceni costs about 40,000 euros compared with 27,000 euros in 2006.
"Prices are now about 25% higher compared with mid last year alone," says Roxana Gologan, the representative of the Lelimond real estate agency. However, she does not believe there is any relation between the rise in prices and the EU accession.
The certain thing is that prices have gone up significantly over the past year, advancing by another almost 5% in one month alone.
"Speaking from experience, I could say that prices usually go up at the beginning of the year, though accession could be a major cause, too," said Serban Filomica, real estate agent with DAI.
Prices of flats could increase even further this year, and one of the reasons could be the elimination of the down payment required for real estate loans.
Although some analysts feel that prices of old flats will go down, because of the new residential complexes delivered onto the market, this is not certain, either.
"Prices will go up, even for the old flats, because the major real estate projects won't be finished for another two or three years. Until then, demand remains high, and supply remains low," Botis said.
The increase in prices is not visible in Bucharest only, but also in Cluj and other cities in the country.
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