Fewer and fewer people living in cities own their homes, with the home ownership rate dropping to 70.5% in 2026 from 73% last year. At the same time, the share of people renting has risen to 15.9%, from 11.3% in 2025, according to a survey conducted by Unlock Market Research for Colliers, based on 1,000 urban respondents. Home buying intentions are also growing: 42.5% of respondents said they plan to buy in the next 6-12 months, compared to 35.2% last year. Yet this rising interest is not reflected in actual sales, which fell by roughly 20% in the first two months of the year, both in Bucharest and nationwide.

Colliers consultants emphasize that these numbers reflect a real market shift, not just a statistical fluctuation. The pressure is most evident among groups with more limited financial means, particularly young people and lower-income households. For them, rising prices, higher financing costs, and a lack of affordable housing options make it increasingly difficult to move from intention to actual purchase. In other words, the desire to buy exists, but for a growing part of the market, the moment of purchase is being delayed.

”The market is entering an adjustment phase, where the gap between intention and transaction is becoming increasingly visible. Rising prices, higher financing costs, and limited new housing supply are pushing purchase decisions further out, especially among younger buyers. Meanwhile, renting is becoming a longer-term solution-not always by choice, but as a result of these constraints. Demand hasn’t disappeared; it has become latent, waiting for better conditions before it turns into actual transactions”, explains Gabriel Blăniță, Director of Valuation & Advisory Services at Colliers Romania.

Buyers are also becoming more selective. They no longer focus only on the purchase price, but increasingly consider the total cost of living in a home: energy bills, access to transport, commuting time, proximity to services, and overall project quality. In this context, well-located, energy-efficient homes retain their appeal, while other properties are harder to sell without price adjustments or clearer positioning in the affordable segment.

The pressure is felt most strongly among people under 35, where declining homeownership and rising renting are most visible. For this group, moving from renting to owning is slower and more difficult, signaling a growing delay in the time it takes to enter the property market.

This trend is also reflected in market performance, with transaction volumes down by around 20% in the first two months of the year, both in Bucharest and nationally. At the same time, limited new housing supply narrows buyer options and keeps pressure on both prices and rents. In this situation, the main constraint is not lack of demand, but affordability driven by financing costs, high prices, and the mismatch between available supply and buyers’ budgets. The market sends a clear signal: interest in buying remains high, but it is harder to convert into actual sales due to this gap between buyer expectations and reality.

This development confirms that the key theme in the residential market is not a lack of interest in homeownership, but declining real affordability. For many households, especially first-time buyers buying a home remains top of mind, but it is increasingly hard to afford without a larger down payment, two stable incomes, or compromises on size, location, or property age.

”This gap between intention and transaction is one of the main themes of the residential market at the start of the year and will continue to shape developments in the short term. Going forward, market evolution will depend largely on changes in financing conditions and the pace of new project deliveries. An important factor will also be developers’ ability to adapt their offerings to current demand, especially in the affordable segment. In this context, we expect a more selective market, with better-calibrated purchasing decisions and transaction volumes that reflect these adjustments more clearly”, concludes Gabriel Blăniță.