Rental fees for luxury homes up 15 percent

BNR enforced new lending rules for individuals, in an attempt to curb consumption and lower risks for both lenders and clients. This led to a significant slowdown of sales, driving those who were planning to sell their properties to change their plans. Consequently, they would rather rent their properties, instead of lowering sale prices to make their products become accessible. “Owners saw the opportunity (...) and raised rental prices,” Lungu added. The most sought after areas on the luxury segment are Primaverii, Dorobanti, Aviatorilor, Kiseleff, Herastrau, Floreasca, Cotroceni, Baneasa, and Otopeni. Northern Bucharest remains the hottest area for new residential projects on the medium and luxury segments. Clients prefer to rent apartments here because they are close to shopping centers and office buildings in which major companies are operating. On the other hand, rental prices for old apartments declined due to the increasing supply of new apartments in semi-central areas of Bucharest, such as Colentina, Drumul Taberei, Grozavesti, Titan, Vitan, and Vacaresti. Clients would rather rent newly-built apartments because these are roomier and provide better conditions. (G.S.)