Real estate sector to remain attractive
27 December 2007
The Romanian real estate sector will continue to remain attractive in the upcoming two-three years, especially in the segments of offices and retail, according to experts from the real estate consulting company Coldwell Banker Commercial. The office segment in Romania is mainly concentrated in Bucharest, which accounts for about 60 percent of the total, followed by Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta and Timisoara.
Over the past years, the office market of Bucharest has been developing a lot, aiming to reach a mature level. The reserve of office spaces in Bucharest reached 1.2 million square metres, and further 400,000 square metres of offices are to be carried out by the end of 2009.
With an estimated demand of about 2.5 million square metres, one could estimate that the offer will equal the demand for offices in the next 3-4 years.
In the segment of retail, Romania with its over 21.7 million consumers is the second largest market in the region when it comes to goods and services.
About 40 percent of the Romanian commercial spaces are concentrated in Bucharest, the city with the most important retail market. Other important cities with significant reserves of commercial spaces are Timisoara, Brasov, Cluj, Constanta, Ploiesti.
The current offer of modern commercial centres in Bucharest is appraised at 570,000 square metres. By the end of 2008, further 750,000 square metres of commercial spaces are expected, however, a level that is still low compared to other metropolises of Eastern Europe.