Farming land market frozen, as well

Ziarul Financiar 07.05.2009
Sales ads for farming land, posted mostly by real estate agencies, are asking for prices ranging from 2,500 euros to 6,000 euros/ha, depending on the size of the plot. However, buyers, largely foreigners, are not sealing any deals. They are at an "information gathering stage", according to players in the field. On the farming land market, very few sales have been recorded since November, which means there is a blockage similar to that of the real estate market. Foreigners who invested in Romania in the past are passing plots or farming companies around among themselves, but nobody is buying any more land for farming purposes due to a lack of liquidity. "I posted an ad two months ago, that I was selling 200 hectares of 1st and 2nd category farming land, 60% of the plots being joined by a common border, but I have yet to conclude any transaction, although I have made attempts last year, as well," says Florin Lele, administrator of Garbian Imob, a company involved in real estate transactions, which asks for 2,300 euros per hectare.