Colliers | Romania Feed

Romania’s real estate market is readying to end a mixed year in terms of results, characterized by strong infrastructure activity, significant investment rebound, but also a disappointing economy, with a lower-than-expected GDP increase, according to Colliers consultants.

Consumption hit an all-time high in 2024 in Romania and the market continues to present major growth opportunities should current tendencies maintain, believe Colliers consultants, as the local market boast the biggest non-food retail growth rate in the EU.

The Romanian real estate investment market ended the first three quarters of 2024 with deals worth almost EUR650 million, around three times more than in the year-earlier period, registering the biggest deal activity growth in the region, in line with Colliers data.

Romania’s construction sector reached record highs in 2023 and 2024, backed by strong private demand for certain property segments and a significant increase in public investments, but 2025 is expected to be challenging, as per an analysis of real estate consulting firm Colliers regarding the evolution of the real estate market in the first six months of 2024.

Modern industrial and logistics space in Romania reached 7.1 million square meters in 2023, making the country the third biggest I&L market of the 13 largest economies in Central and Eastern Europe and developers have more than 500,000 square meters of modern space under construction, real estate consultant Colliers says in a report.

Romanians’ intention of buying a house in the next 12 months is close to the levels of the 2006-2008 period, before the global financial crisis, and the housing market started 2024 with a 19% increase in the number of deals with apartments in the first quarter, nationwide, reveals a recent analysis by Colliers based on Eurostat data.

Investment in production machinery and military equipment in Romania surged by 80% in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic period, well above the EU average of 30%, totaling EUR30 billion, or nearly 9% of the GDP, as per Eurostat data analyzed by Colliers.

The number of housing units sold in Bucharest in the first quarter of the year rose by 18% from the year-earlier period, while nationwide demand went up by 19%, according to real estate consultancy Colliers.

The hotel sector continued its rebound in 2023, with a sustained increase in leisure tourism, with the number of Romanian tourists accommodated in local hotel structures nearing 7 million, very close to a record high, and also above the average of pre-pandemic years, reveals Colliers’ annual report.

The share of industrial and logistics leasing transactions outside of capital city Bucharest reached a record high in 2023, while transactions in Bucharest touched a record low, with the total volume of lease contracts nearing 770,000 square meters, slightly lower than the record high of 830,000 square meters reported in 2022, as per the annual report released by Colliers.

The volume of real estate deals in 2023 declined to around EUR476 million, less than half the 2022 record high, but the market is likely to slightly rebound this year, to around EUR500 million, reveals an analysis by Colliers.

2024 looks quite optimistic for Romania’s economy and, by extension, for the local real estate market, Colliers consultants predict in ”Top 10 Predictions Romania 2024” report.

The volume of deals with land plots for commercial real estate projects (industrial one and for and traditional warehouses) dropped by less than 10% from the 2022 level of EUR450 million and remains considerably above the pre-pandemic level, in line with Colliers estimates.

Sweets are an essential item of holidays in the homes of Romanians and Bulgarians, reveals a report by Colliers based on a survey among respondents of Romania, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia (CEE-6).

Romania’s real estate market prepares to end a “decent” year, with intense activity in the industrial sector, but also with a decline in economic dynamic and a significant decrease in investment market activity, as Colliers consultants predicted at the beginning of the year, in their report “Top 10 predictions 2023”.

Romania is emerging as a major regional distribution hub, especially in southeastern Europe and the stock of logistic spaces is likely to top 10 million square meters by the end of this decade, from 7 million at present, way below that of some countries in the region such as Poland or Czechia, reveals a Colliers analysis.

The total value of investment transactions in Romania reached EUR168 million in first half of 2023, roughly half compared to last year’s level, with the industrial and logistics segment accounting for about 36% of volumes and the office segment for about 31%, as per Colliers’s market report for the first half of 2023.

The Romanian land market remained highly active in the first half of 2023, reaching an estimated turnover of around EUR250 million, as per a report by Colliers regarding the evolution of the real estate market in the first half of 2023.

The first quarter of 2023 was among the slowest in the post-pandemic period in terms of demand for office space, reflecting uncertainty triggered by economic perspectives, according to Colliers.

Housing prices rose, between 2015-2021, by 38% on average in the EU, with Romania having the lowest price increase in CEE, of 34%, reveals a recent Colliers report.