Romanian house prices rise slightly in Q1 2013, following steadying trend of last year

Average residential property prices in Romania rose slightly in the first quarter of 2013, after recording a small fall in the previous quarter. The market has displayed slight fluctuations around a fairly constant average, according to Eurobank Property Services' Residential Property Index. Average home prices are now around EUR 45,000 across Romania, a little over EUR 60,000 in the Bucharest Ring and around EUR 80,000 in Central Bucharest. In the last four quarters, the national price index has fallen by 1.2 percent; a relatively small drop compared to the 33 percent price nose-dive recorded since the 2008 peak. Prices in Central Bucharest and the Bucharest Ring fell off during Q1 2013 by 4.1 percent and 5 percent respectively quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile residential property prices in Ilfov County climbed by an average 2.4 percent. Since the 2008 property peak, prices have fallen by 51 percent in the capital, or some 13.3 percent on average each year. Bucharest also contrasted with the national averages for old and new properties: across the country, prices of new properties rose faster than the nation average, while in Bucharest, new property prices fell more rapidly than the city average. Looking at Romania's regions, South and Moldova saw the biggest price increases, up 7.8 percent and 3.9 respectively during Q1 2013. Most other areas also recorded price rises, with the exception of Bucharest and Ilfov, as well as close to Danube and Sea, where prices fell. Among the cities, Craiova and Oradea saw the highest quarterly growth in property prices, both up over 10 percent. According to Eurobank Property Services, residential property prices are stabilizing, both in Bucharest and across the country. A pattern of quarterly fluctuations has been followed for more than a year, after the prices crashed from 2008 onwards. Eurobank Property Services is a subsidiary of Eurobank group. Started in 2005, the firm offers real estate solutions and has a network across Romania with its head office in Bucharest. Eurobank Property Services portfolio of customers includes banks, with Bancpost being the main client, public institutions, real estate funds, foreign investors, local real estate development companies and private companies. editor@romania-insider.com