C&W Echinox: Almost nine in ten houses in Romania are over 30 years old

Only 1.22 million, or 13.4% of Romania's total housing units stock, are newer than 30 years, according to a report compiled by real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield Echinox based on official statistics.

The report identifies the regions where the demand for new housing units might be above average.

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The residential stock mainly includes apartments built under the communist regime, having a low degree of comfort in most cases.

In only three of Romania's counties, the share of residences built in the last 30 years exceeds 20% of the total stock: Constanța (22.1%), Cluj (22%), and Suceava (21.4%).

At the opposite pole are Teleorman (5,6%), Hunedoara (5.6%), and Caraş-Severin (4.1%), where the residential stock is overwhelmingly dominated by dwellings built more than 30 years ago.

In the Bucharest - Ilfov region, the share of residences built between 1990 and 2019 is 16.8%, with a significant difference between the Capital (10.3%) and Ilfov county (46.1%).

This situation illustrates a high appetite for new projects located in the capital's neighboring towns, such as Popești Leordeni, Chiajna, Bragadiru, or Voluntari.

In total absolute numbers, in Bucharest and Ilfov, some 90,000 residences have been built over the last 30 years.

"In the cities with a better economic evolution, such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Constanța, Timiș, or Sibiu, the new residential share is above the national average. Still, even in these counties, there is still enough room for development to improve the living conditions. Other counties such as Bihor, Dolj or Prahova, have positive demographic and macroeconomic indicators and a new residential deficit, so they have a good potential for residential development," says Mihaela Pană, Partner Residential Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

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