Buying a house in Bucharest, three times easier than during the economic boom

Apartments in Bucharest are three times more accessible nowadays, than during the economic boom, according to an analysis made by real estate consultancy firm Coldwell Banker. A Romanian making the average net wage (some EUR 410 per month) must now work about 11 years to buy a 50-sqm two-room apartment in Bucharest (if he used all the money he made to pay for the apartment). In 2008, he would have had to work 33 years to get the same apartment. The difference is due to the drop in the selling prices and the increase in the average salary. Buying a new apartment has also became easier as the banks have reduced interest rates. The mortgage loans in Romanian currency lei have now much lower interest rates, closer to the ones offered by the First House program. This year will be the best year in the history of the residential market in Bucharest, according to Coldwell Banker specialists. About 11,000 new apartments might be completed in Bucharest and in the surroundings this year, more than in 2008. editor@romania-insider.com