“This is the first investigation on this market, which we initiated strictly for research purposes, not because we suspected any violation of the competition law. We are pleased with the results, because, in general, this is a competitive market, which works. We do not want a regulated market, because we are afraid of regulation,” the President of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiritoiu, told Business Standard.
“There is some danger on the cadastre market, where an old piece of legislation, which limits competition, could be revalidated. This could lead to legislative confusion, which should be limited by Parliament and the Government. The activity of real estate agencies is also working normally, although we were surprised to discover here that there is a certain uniformity of fees. In most cases, this is of three percent of the value of the transaction, but not necessarily due to an agreement between agents,” Chiritoiu said.
The main problem on the real estate market comes from the notary public segment, where there is little competition, mainly due to regulations. “The law creates a non-competitive environment, mainly due to the limiting of access to this profession. This is a closed and opaque market. According to the legislation, the Ministry of Justice annually determines the number of notaries public. There are 2,000 notaries in Romania at present. The second problem is related to the fact that the law sets minimum fees, and notaries are not compelled to disclose their fees. Thus, the consumer cannot access the services of notaries public with all the data he needs,” Chiritoiu explained.
Notary public services in Romania for a €100,000 real estate transaction cost more than in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, and Slovenia. “The real cost of notary public services, namely the level of fees adjusted with the average revenue and expressed as a percentage of the value of the transaction, in Romania is the highest of the 21 analyzed EU members, and four times higher than the average,” the Competition Council report indicates.
