Romanians prefer to acquire apartments in new buildings

About 31.7 percent of the people interviewed for the study said they would move to older buildings, while13.9 percent responded the type of building they would move to is unimportant.

However, many people still choose apartments in older buildings, the study showed, mostly because of the offers on the market, coupled with the smaller prices.The study was made from August 15 to October 1, on 1,000 people.

Some 500 new apartments will be finalized in the fourth quarter due to 60,000 requests in the last three years, Bucharest's real estate companies and agencies announced last month.

First 453 flats will be ready by the end of this year, including ones built by Mivan company, which invested over 85 million euros in ten blocks in east Bucharest. The project initiated by New Town Residence includes 317 apartments to be ready by the first quarter of 2008. Some 136 flats out of 488 in Parcul Banatului, just outside Bucharest, will be finalized this year, along with other 50 flats in north Bucharest.

According to Colliers International, at least ten projects initiated in 2006 will bring 3,000 new flats in the next year and around 8,000 by 2010. Company representatives added that 3,000 new apartments and 4,000 flats in old Bucharest's blocks were sold in the first half of 2007.