C&W Echinox: Record housing units delivered in 2021, but the future is uncertain

A total of 72,522 housing units were delivered across Romania in 2021, a record level in the residential market since 1989, marking a 7% increase compared with 2020, according to an analysis by real estate consultancy company Cushman & Wakefield Echinox based on county statistical data released by the statistics office.

A total of 22,010 housing units have been completed in Bucharest (13,344) and Ilfov (8,666), corresponding to a 5% annual increase in the Bucharest metropolitan area that thus holds a 30% national market share.

Other counties such as Timis (7,460 new housing units, +24%), Iasi (3,389; +66%), Arad (1,042; +74%) or Bistrita-Nasaud (1,029; +51%) also registered a positive evolution.

On the other hand, a lower number of new deliveries compared with 2020 has been observed in Cluj (4,675; -15%), Brasov (2,986; -27%) or Bacău (768; -43%).

“2022 will arguably present many more challenges, as a result of the continuous increase of the construction materials’ prices and of the inflation, which reached 8.5% in February, and also due to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine,” Vlad Săftoiu, Head of Research, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, said.

Furthermore, the current and future monetary policy rate increases are also expected to have a direct impact on mortgage lending, especially from H2 2022 onwards, he argued.

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