Apartment prices close on 50 per cent slump

FLAT PRICE CRASH The prices of apartments in Bucharest dropped by 45 per cent between November 2008 and November 2009, according to a new real estate index launched by imobiliare.ro

December 2009 - From the Print Edition

New-three room apartments dropped most, while the prices of the new two-room apartments were the least affected by the decline in the residential market.
Pre-1989 apartment prices declined by 44.8 per cent.
The most expensive areas in Bucharest are Piata Unirii with prices around 1,788 Euro per sqm, Calea Dorobanti – 1,756 Euro per sqm and Floreasca – 1,733 Euro per sqm.
Apartments in Bucharest witnessed a three per cent price decline in some sectors and a two per cent price rise in others in October against September. Prices dropped by three per cent in sectors 1, 2 and 4 to 1,565 Euro per sqm, 1,040 Euro per sqm and 1,204 Euro per sqm, according to real estate consultants Colliers International. In sectors 3, 5 and 6 the prices increased by two per cent, to 1,132 Euro per sqm, 1,204 Euro per sqm and 967 Euro per sqm.
The cheapest areas in the capital are Rahova, Berceni and Oltenitei.
In Brasov, year-on-year, the apartment prices declined by 46 per cent, in Cluj-Napoca the prices of the two room apartments dropped by 51 per cent, according to imobiliare.ro. Constanta and Iasi saw declines in apartment prices by 48 per cent and by 40 per cent between November 2008 and November 2009.