Colliers | Romania Feed

Romania’s residential market slowed in the first half of the year following several years of strong growth, but the data does not point to a major correction, according to Colliers’ first-half of the year report.

Manufacturing-driven demand is gaining ground on the industrial and logistics space market in Romania, with about 28% of all transactions publicly released having a manufacturing utilization of the warehouse space, almost double last year’s share and significantly above the 10% to 15% average, Colliers says in a report.

More than 100,000 square meters of office space were leased in Bucharest in the first half of 2026, slightly below the level recorded in the same period of 2025, while the limited supply of modern, well-located space continues to put upward pressure on rents, according to Colliers’ mid-year market update report.

Bucharest’s residential market recovered much of the ground lost following a weak start to the year and ended the first half with apartment transactions down by only 2% compared with the same period in 2025, according to data analyzed by Colliers.

The volume of construction works increased by over 6% in the first two months of 2026, following a record-breaking 2025, while in April 2026 the sector remained Romania’s only major economic driver still showing growth, according to a Colliers analysis based on Eurostat data.

Leasing transactions for modern office space in Bucharest increased by 14% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, while new demand rose by 24%, real estate consultant Colliers said in a report.

Service charges for modern office buildings in Romania could increase by approximately 10% in 2026 compared with last year, according to data from Colliers. The increases are driven by several factors, including higher property taxes, inflation and rising wages.

Almost nine in 10 large companies of Romania intend to maintain their current office footprint in 2026, focusing on optimization and efficiency, while small ones are more open to expansion, reveals a survey conducted by Colliers among 101 companies.

Confidence among companies in logistics sector in Romania regarding the outlook for their local business fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, marking the fifth-largest decline in the European Union compared with the historical average, Eurostat data cited by Colliers show.

Romanians' interest in buying houses is increasing, yet the number of transactions carried out is declining, with the share of homeowners being on a downward trend and that of tenants on an upward trend, as per a survey by Unlock Market Research for Colliers, based on 1,000 urban respondents.

The first quarter of 2026 is set to close with office transactions totaling approximately EUR130 million in Romania, marking the strongest start to a year in the past decade, according to Colliers data.

Nearly half of companies in Romania expect employees to come to the office three to four days a week in 2026, as hybrid working becomes more structured, according to a survey conducted by Colliers among 101 companies.

Housing deliveries across Romania went below 58,000 units in 2025, the lowest level of the last eight years, but the volume of transactions remains nearly 20% above the pre-pandemic average, according to the annual report published by real estate consulting firm Colliers.

Romania’s industrial and logistics market continued its upward trajectory in 2025, with more than 300,000 square meters of modern space delivered, bringing total stock to approximately 8 million square meters, according to Colliers’ annual report.

Romania’s modern retail market exceeded the 5 million square meters milestone in 2025, following the delivery of approximately 190,000 square meters of new retail space, around 20% above the average of the past five years, according to Colliers’ annual report.

Romania industrial and logistic market is readying for a major leap: from 8 million square meters at present, the stock is due to top 10 million square meters in the next two years amid annual deliveries of around 1 million square meters, according to Colliers consultants.

Land sales in Romania in 2025 registered a similar level with the previous year, when deals totaled almost EUR450 million, amid political uncertainty and fiscal adjustments in the first half of the year, according to Colliers consultants.

Romania had the fastest construction growth in the EU in the post-pandemic period and has the highest weight of the sector in GDP, of 8%, but the strong break in highway completion in 2025 against 2024 is a worrying sign, according to Colliers consultants.

Demand for Bucharest modern office spaces has declined by around one third in 2025, mainly on the curtailed activity of IT&C companies, which generated only 10% of total leases in the first nine months of the year, the lowest level since 2010, in line with data provided by real estate consultancy Colliers.

Modern retail has increasingly focused lately on small and medium-sized cities, as localities with below 50,000 inhabitants have a modern commercial space stock of around 70 square meters per 1.000 inhabitants, a value that is 2 to 11 times lower than in the other countries of the CEE-6 group (Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary), according to Colliers.