Romanian real estate market ballooned in recent years, boosting wages in the sector

The real estate market in Romania witnessed a spectacular boom in the last two years, during which the number of jobs and the average wage in the sector increased.

Both the number of newly-built projects and sales volumes increased over the pandemic. At the same time, the number of jobs in real estate increased markedly, a trend that is still ongoing. Over 9,000 new jobs were posted on the recruitment platform eJobs by real estate companies between January and October 2022. Most were located in cities with an active real estate segment like Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, and the Ilfov area.

“We are witnessing a period of calm in the market, during which buyers keep an eye on what is happening in the economy and think twice before making a purchase,” says Bogdan Badea, CEO of eJobs Romania, in a press release. “For a long time, this was a sector that mainly offered entry-level jobs which represented a good employment option for young people with no experience. Right now, the number of jobs for mid-level candidates (2-5 years of experience) matches the one for those new to the field. That can only mean one thing: the market has become more mature, and the projects more sophisticated,” he adds.

Salario, eJobs’ salary comparator, shows that the average salary of those working in real estate is RON 4,000 (EUR 814) per month. Real estate agents, who make up the majority of employees in the field, earn RON 3,500 (EUR 714) on average. Appraisers bring in roughly RON 3,200 (EUR 610).

Aside from fixed wages, employees in the sector often have a significant income in the form of commissions on sales. It is not uncommon, therefore, for real estate agents to earn up to 3-4 times more than the fixed salary, according to the eJobs press release. Small towns, however, have a lower level of residential and commercial transactions, and salaries in the sector are lower as a result.

Sales executives are the best-paid employees in real estate, earning roughly RON 26,000 (EUR 5,300) monthly. Technical managers and property managers have similar levels of income. However, only 7.1% of those who work in real estate have salaries higher than RON 10,000 per month, and 11% earn between RON 7,000 and 10,000. More than one in four employees in real estate earn between RON 4,000 – 7,000. Close to a fifth are paid between RON 3,000 – 4,000, and another 25% have wages ranging between 2,000 – 3,000.

The real estate sector remains a popular one among job seekers. Approximately 30,000 applications were registered on the eJobs.ro real estate jobs section in the last month, the most active candidates being those between 18 and 24 years of age, followed by those between 25 and 35.

eJobs is one of Romania’s most important recruitment platforms, hosting 32,000 ads for jobs at the moment.