The Romanian real estate field is currently one of the most profitable Romanian business fields, and therefore investors have one more reason to choose our country. Joining the EU will create a stable and competitive economic environment that should encourage a larger number of investors to populate the Romanian real estate market.

In Cluj-Napoca the real estate market has been very active for a number of years. Cluj real estate properties are very expensive, the trend of their prices being higher than in most towns of our country. A sufficiently powerful middle class has emerged here, and these people have afforded to buy properties with or without banking credits. Fed up with the high monthly rents, the parents of Cluj students have quickly understood that buying an apartment is a good investment. Cluj is a powerful academic center, and the above-mentioned phenomenon, which is a dynamic factor on the real estate market, will very probably be present in the future as well.

Before 2002, the Romanian real estate market had shown relatively slow increase of about 5% per year. Against the background of a large difference between demand and supply, real estate and mortgage credits have led to significant price increase since 2003.

In order to give an example of a very profitable real estate investment, we show below the evolution of the price in EUR/used m 2 of the most sold and bought apartment type, the 2-room apartment, whose price currently amounts to 1,000 EUR/m 2 .

Price of the 2-room apartment,

EUR/m 2

The evolution of apartment prices during the last 5 years is shown in the table below.

The shown amounts are average market prices, and are given in EUR.

The price of the studios with a 1 or 2 comfort degrees amounts to 1,200 EUR/m 2 , while that of large apartments oscillates around 900 EUR/m 2 . The surface of comfort 1 studios ranges between 24 and 29 m 2 , and that of comfort 2 studios between 18 and 22 m 2 . These apartments are requested by buyers for renting purposes, or by young people, students or newlyweds.

The surface of 1-room apartments ranges between 29 and 44 m 2 , and access to the kitchen, bathroom, and room is from the entrance hall.

Price dynamics for studios, comfort 2 and comfort 1, and 1-room apartments

The surface of 2-room apartments ranges between 46 and 54 m 2 . These apartments are sold and bought most frequently.

Price dynamics for 2-room apartments, comfort 1 and increased

The surface of 3-room apartments, comfort 1 is about 65 m 2 , and that of increased-comfort apartments approximately 74 m 2 . The 3- and 4-room apartments are especially requested by families with 1 or 2 children, who usually sell their 1- or 2-room apartments that have become insufficient. They pay the price difference, frequently by taking mortgage credits.

Price dynamics for 3-room apartments, comfort 1 and increased

Price dynamics for 4-room apartments, comfort 1 and increased

Beginning with the summer of 2005, we have noticed the customers' preferences for buying semi-finished or “turnkey” apartments in new buildings, in which they can decide on a large apartment, or one with practical partitioning. If we also consider the higher quality of heat, sound, and waterproof insulation, and finishing materials when compared to old buildings, we understand why more than two thirds of the total number of sold and bought real estate properties are new buildings.

The selling price of semi-finished apartments ranges between 700 and 850 EUR/m 2 , while that of finished apartments ranges between 900 and 1,300 EUR/m 2 , according to area and property surface.

House Market

Many of us dream of a house and a piece of land, a yard of our own, where we can enjoy privacy and comfort. Within the last 3 years, many duplex houses or rows of buildings have been built. They had been usually sold long before the buildings were finished.

Since land is very expensive and more and more hard to find, the demand for houses is continuously increasing. Customers request new houses, as well as old houses that they intend to extend and strengthen. In Andrei Muresanu, Gheorgheni, Grigorescu, and Zorilor districts, the price of new houses ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 EUR according to the respective land, and finishing quality.

In the graph diagram below, we show the price dynamics for 2-, 3-, 4-room, and larger houses, with classical finishing, and respective land of ca. 300-400 m 2 . The prices may show significant differences or increase due to special features each house possesses, i.e. architecture, design, area, finishing, equipment, respective land, etc.

Price dynamics for 2-, 3-, and 4-room+ houses

Land Market

Cluj is an attractive real estate market not only for the residential segment, but also for the land segment. Here we can talk about a crisis of construction land in residential areas, and especially in the central and semi-central areas of the city.

In the ultra central area of the city, a square meter of land, if you are lucky to find it, of course, is sold for about 1,100 EUR, while in Gheorgheni, Andrei Muresanu, Grigorescu, or Zorilor districts, the prices range between 200 and 400 EUR/m 2 .

The solution seems to be to extend the building area towards the periphery of the city. People are increasingly interested in Faget, Becas, Borhanci, and Floresti areas.

Average land prices in different areas of Cluj city

(EUR/m 2 )

Center

Ultra central

Shop, Office, and Industrial Space Market

Although the surface and conditions of Cluj-Napoca shops are increasing, these spaces are still not meeting European quality standards. The shopping centers on Ferdinand Street seem to contradict us, due to their special features, exquisite design, quality finishing, and excellent business.

On the office market, the most important projects are those built on Dorobantilor Street , 21 Decembrie Blvd , and Constanta Street .

In the table below, we give average rental amounts for shop, office, and industrial space in different areas of Cluj city.

This general presentation of Cluj real estate market is just a page from the service package provided by WELT, and is meant to give you an overview of the real estate field, and its trends