SVN: Romania’s housing market ends 2025 on weak note as VAT hike hits sales

The residential property market ended 2025 with its weakest fourth-quarter performance in years, after the VAT increase weighed heavily on demand, according to a report by real estate consultant SVN Romania. The final quarter marked the weakest year-end for residential sales in the Bucharest–Ilfov area in the past nine years and the poorest fourth-quarter result nationwide since 2019.

Overall, more than 159,500 homes were sold across Romania in 2025, down 5.3% from 2024, while transactions in Bucharest–Ilfov fell by 8.5% to just over 55,000 units, based on data from the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration.