Ongoing real estate fair shows Romania’s slow residential revival

Four new residential projects developed by foreign investors started unit sales earlier this week, totaling 1,100 units. The investment in these projects amounted to EUR 100 million, according to Mediafax. A Swiss investor builds a residential block in Batistei area, while Lithuanian Hanner Group works on a residential compound in Tineretului area. Israeli group Tagor will develop a project in Pipera, while Spanish firm Volumetric, on a project on Ficusului boulevard. All four projects were launched at the real estate fair tiMOn, which currently takes place in Constitutiei Square, due to end on October 19. Most expensive of the four is Batiştei Apartments, with the smallest of the housing units selling for EUR 210,000. Second comes Ficusului Residence, with some EUR 109,000 for the smallest housing units available, then come The Park Tineretului with EUR 55,000, and Adora Pipera, with EUR 47,400. The recent launches show a slow revival of the residential market in Romania, where real estate developers have started to invest more in promotion. Their marketing budgets were 45% higher than last year. Developers who attend tiMOn have invested some EUR 800,000 in total in promotion and marketing, close to the ‘golden era’ of real estate, when above EUR 1 million was spend on these, according to Vlad Vlăsceanu, director of the fair. Banks are the least glamorous at the fair, which shows their lack of strategy for the residential market, he concluded. editor@romania-insider.com