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Apartment prices down 1.2 pct this June to national average of 1,200 euro per sqm
Apartment prices dropped 1.2 percent this June to a national average of 1,200 euro per square meter, just 3.1 percent higher than the figure recorded at the beginning of the year, which shows that the real estate market is about to enter a stabilization phase, found a survey by real estate portal Imobiliare.ro released on Thursday.
For comparison, the national average increase for apartment prices was 6.7 percent in H1 2017 (to 1,120 euro per sqm). Brasov witnessed the fastest growth rate in H1 2018.
In Bucharest, apartment asking prices inched up 0.4 percent in June from 1,328 to 1,333 euro per sqm, the cited survey reveals. Prices were 5.9 percent higher in late June than in early January. So far, the growth pace for Bucharest home prices was more moderate compared to other cities (Cluj-Napoca or Timisoara). The upward trend in H1 was mainly supported by new apartments, whose average value topped 1,400 euro per usable sqm at the end of June.
With a 2.8 percent increase this June (from 1,048 to 1,077 euro per sqm), Brasov tops the ranking of apartment prices growth in the first half of the year. It is noteworthy that whereas the apartments in old blocks gained 2.1 percent in value last month (reaching 1,068 euro per sqm), new apartment prices leapt by more than 4.4 percent on average in this city, hitting the 1,100 euro per sqm mark. Compared to the same period last year, apartments in Brasov are 12.7 percent more expensive.
The slowdown in price rises is the most obvious in Cluj-Napoca. Whereas in H1 2017 apartments up for sale in this city grew by 10 percent more expensive, this year the growth rate is at just half. However, Cluj-Napoca apartments remain the most expensive in the country, as they were priced at 1,522 euro per sqm on average at the end of June. The price advance has tempered down on both surveyed market segments. The average asking price for old apartments reached 1,553 euro sqm, while for new ones it is 1,492 euro per sqm.
Apartments put up for sale in Constanta saw a 0.8 percent appreciation this June (from 1,147 to 1,156 euro per sqm), the current value being 5.6 percent higher than the figure recorded in the Imobiliare.ro January index. Prices for old block apartments dropped 0.3 percent in June (from 1,145 to 1,142 euro per sqm), and prices for new apartments grew by 3 percent-plus more expensive (from 1,152 to 1,192 euro per sqm).
In Iasi, prices dropped 0.8 percent in June (from 1,015 to 1,007 euro per sqm), taking the advance from early this year to 3.4 percent (compared to 974 euro per sqm in January). Old apartment prices hit an average of 1,000 euro per sqm this June, while prices for new homes dropped 1.9 percent in the same month, reaching 1,009 euro per sqm.
Price growth has noticeably tempered down in Timisoara too, as asking figures increased overall by 4.3 percent in the first half of 2018 (from 1,152 to 1,202 euro per sqm), and flatlined in June. In the last month, prices for Timisoara old apartments saw an appreciation by 0.1 percent (from 1,206 to 1,207 euro per sqm), and prices for new apartments advanced 0.3 percent (from 1,184 to 1,187 euro per sqm).