This means old apartment prices declined by some 10-15 percent in H1.
The drop in prices was caused by a standstill on the market in the first six months of 2008, caused by the international financial crisis.
Sato Imobiliare real estate agency’s General Manager Liviu Ureche told Business Standard the decline in prices was some 5 percent for apartments in central Bucharest and some 15 percent at the city outskirts. “This trend could go on by the end of the year, unless Romania’s National Bank (BNR) comes up with regulations aimed to ease lending,” he said. However, the BNR is currently working at legislation meant to curb lending and it increased the key rate for the eight time in a row, up to 10.25 percent, which is likely to further deter population to contract mortgages.
New apartments market is also affected by the international credit crunch. The number of transactions declined by some 50 percent since last year, prompting developers to offer discounts up to €10,000.