tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42929278391060197732024-03-14T00:42:06.937-07:00Romanian Real Estate WatchClippings from Romanian newspapers regarding the prices on the residential market in Romania, with the main focus on Bucharest's prices.Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-64199663785067570832010-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:002010-02-03T00:02:45.219-08:00Housing prices asked in Capital fell by more than 26% on averageThe average price asked by owners in the Capital in January 2010, compared with same month of previous year, registered drops of over 26% for one-, two-, three- and four-rooms apartments, according to the monitoring report made by anunturiparticulari.ro. <br />Thus, the prices of one-room apartments were cheaper, from 57,594 euros to 42,467 euros, two-room apartments from 90,870 euros to 68,902 euros, three-room apartments from 132,569 euros to 95,021 euros and four room ones dropped from 168,061 euros (January 2009) to 124,832 euros (January 2010).<br />Compared to 2006, the prices are still much higher. In 2006, a one/room apartment cost 32,332 euros, on average, a two-room apartment 49,000 euros, a three-room apartment 62,647 euros and four-room apartments were valued at 100,346 euros on average.<br />"This year, January was more agitated than usual and this mainly because of the uncertainties related to the First Home programme. If the programme was initially blocked for a period of time, its imminent change was announced from mid-February. Some of those who now qualify for the programme rush to submit their files, to be sure they do not lose this opportunity, while those who still do not qualify, expect more relaxed conditions for the entry into the programme. In conclusion everyone keeps their eyes on prices and there has been a sudden surge of interest from potential buyers, at least at the exploratory level," reads the real estate monitoring report for January 2010, conducted by anunturiparticulari.ro. According to the source cited above, the number of apartments put on the market is also on a downward slope. In the first month of this year, the private owners put up for sale less than 1700 apartments. There were on the market 652 two-room apartments, 489 two-room apartments, 382 one-room apartments and 137 four-room apartments.<br />The statistics is based on the real estate offers in Bucharest, posted by private individuals in the printed media and on the internet, and the average price is obtained from the initial prices asked by the owners.<br /><p>AnunturiParticulari was launched in 2001 and monitors all the real estate ads published by private individuals in the printed media and on the internet.<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2010-02-03/Housing+prices+asked+in+Capital+fell+by+more+than+26%25+on+average</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-29409140556937206862009-10-07T22:30:00.001-07:002009-10-07T22:31:39.945-07:00Prices of old two-room apartments dropped again in Q3<p>According to the www.imobiliare.ro survey on the dynamics of the asking price on old two-room apartments in the third quarter 2009, significant decreases were registered in Romania's largest cities, with the exception of Cluj-Napoca municipality. Despite the first signs of recovery under the influence of the "First Home" programme, owners and real estate agencies reduce their expectations.</p><p>www.imobiliare.ro shows that, in Bucharest, the sellers' average asking price for a two-room apartment situated in blocks built before the Revolution with an area of 54 square meters, dropped by more than 8,000 euros, down from an average of 77,385 euros (1,443 euros / sqm), registered in early July, to 69,008 euros (1,277 euros / sqm) at the end of September. If the asking price remains relatively high, the transaction price is significantly lower.<br /></p><p>The real estate market in Brasov continues to register significant decreases: at the end of September, the average asking price for an old two-room apartment with an area of 53 sqm was more than 8,000 euros lower than in early July, following a trend similar to that of capital. Thus, at the end of the third quarter, real estate agencies and owners were asking an average price of 52,795 euros (998 euros / sqm) for a two-room apartment, as against 61,395 euros (1,145 euros / sqm). The lowest level, 50,500 euros, was reached at the end of August.</p><p>After several months of decline, the average price asked for a two-room apartment in Cluj-Napoca registered a trend of slight increase during the period under survey, fluctuating very little around the value 56,500 euros (1,086 euros / sqm). The highest average value, 57,223 euros, was reached in mid-September, and the minimum average, 55,033 euros, was registered in mid-July.<br /></p><p>As regards Constanţa, the rate of decrease of the average price asked for old two-room apartments accelerated during the period under survey. Thus, at the end of the third quarter, the average asking price for a real estate of this kind with an area of 52 sqm, was 55,376 euros (1,115 euros / sqm), compared to the value registered in early July, 63,429 euros (1,299 euros / mp).<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2009-10-08/Prices+of+old+two-room+apartments+dropped+again+in+Q3</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-57650555565983824062009-06-26T00:34:00.000-07:002009-06-26T00:35:20.997-07:00Odyssea residential complex sells 10 apartments in nine months<p>Residential complex Odyssea Residential, developed by Caterata and by Profit Building in the Sisesti area in North-Western Bucharest, will in a first phase consist of only two blocks with 50 apartments, out of a total of six buildings with 156 homes, announced when the project was launched in March. Profit Building and Caterata, a joint venture between Austrian Immoeast and Israeli New Horizon, have so far sold 20% of the first phase of the project, i.e. 10 homes nine months from the launch of the residential complex. "We are on schedule with delivering the apartments, which will happen in April 2010, as we promised buyers. 20% of the apartments of the Odyssea complex have been pre-contracted," said representatives of the developers. In order to stimulate the sales growth rate, developers changed the price offer, which started from 1,500 euros/square metre plus VAT. "The price is still 1,500 euros/square metre, but we can change this in order to adapt to the market trend. We offer a discount of 100 euros per square metre, free-of-charge financial assistance and fully equipped kitchens, in order to make the offer as affordable as possible," representatives of the developer added.</p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/odyssea-residential-complex-sells-10-apartments-in-nine-months-4596924/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-59067659168576346312009-05-31T23:51:00.000-07:002009-05-31T23:52:31.088-07:00Bankers want BNR to cover whole guarantee for ''First Home''<p>The banks asked BNR to accept the whole guarantee issued by the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs in the "First Home" programme in constituting the provisions relating to the granted loans and will agree to an execution period of the Fund of up to 90 days. "We are discussing over extending the value taken into account from the guarantee of the Guarantee Fund for SMEs from the current 50% to 100%, so that the banks will no longer be obliged to make provisions for loans of up to 60,000 euro. If they do not make provisions, they will probably accept a period of execution of 90 days from the occurrence of the delay on the respective loan," said sources participating in discussions, Mediafax informs.</p><p>"The banks will execute the guarantee of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs, in the First Home programme, most likely in the case of arrears exceeding 90 days'', Sorin Mititelu, Executive Manager of the Business & Retail Product Development Department of BCR, said on Friday. In the opinion of the BCR representative, in the "First Home" programme, the customers will decide to what bank they will apply to get a loan and there will be no pre-qualification conditions for the banks from the government. He confirmed the central bank would accept the increase of the value taken into account in constituting provisions, from 50% to 100%, from the guarantee of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs.</p><p>"Studies show that approximately 3% of the active urban population express their intention to buy a home. There certainly is a potential demand, but the eligible demand has decreased even more lately. The programme comes in support of the eligible demand," said Mititelu. He considers the maximum amount guaranteed, of 60,000 euros, covers the need, as long as last year, at national level, an average mortgage loan amounted to approximately 50,000 euros. Only in the area of the Capital the average mortgage loans exceeded 60,000 euros.<br /></p><p>The BCR manager also said the bank currently has a maximum indebtness level for mortgage loans of 60% of customer revenues.</p><p>The discussions also analysed the possibility of a counter-guarantee from the Finance Ministry, to increase trust in the capacity of the National Credit Guarantee for SMEs (FNGCIMM) to cover the guarantees executed. Given that banks will practically have zero provisions on the "First Home" mortgage loans of up to 60,000 euros, they will not have significant costs for delays in payment and will even be interested in suporting the client in resuming to pay installments in time.</p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2009-06-01/Bankers+want+BNR+to+cover+whole+guarantee+for+''First+Home''</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-76687217479006020872009-03-16T23:37:00.000-07:002009-03-16T23:38:07.129-07:00Buyers offer prices even 70% lower than those demanded by real estate marketThe prices offered by potential buyers on the real estate market are even 70% lower than those demanded by the owners and, under these circumstances, the offer of apartments put up for rent has increased by 40 since the beginning of the year, EuroMetropola estimates.<br /><p>"Most of the buyers or those who are shopping the real estate market focused only to opportunities now. Nobody wants to buy at the "price of the area", but only at "crisis prices", which translates into a sharply negotiated price, sometimes almost up to the cost price ", reads a release of real estate company EuroMetropola.</p><p>The consultants of the company estimate that whether it is a matter of residential, industrial, land sales or residential, office or commercial space rentals, under the pretext that "there is a crisis", all customers negotiate very tough and make price offers even 70% lower than the initial demand. "As the waiting period from the listing of a property to its sale or rent increased considerably, as compared to 2007-2008, the owners accept negotiation more easily, sometimes up to even half the price asked, forced by other financial obligations. Under these circumstances, no wonder that the number of apartments put up for sale has increased by 40% from the beginning of the year, and the ranks of those who refuse to sell grow more and more," the release mentions.<br /></p>The consultants of the company say that, in other market conditions, negotiations would go up to 20%, but since there is no market price anymore, buyers try to force the owners' hand even more. "Prices are calming down, but will not decrease very much. Unfortunately, those who want dramatic price drops, driven by personal interests, do not imagine that this could lead to a collapse of the construction and financial markets. Prices should stagnate at a certain level, which would reveal the quality of the building, the year of construction, finishing, location and other advantages", the release mentions. Real estate consultants estimate there are properties in Bucharest that, even before the crisis, would stay 1-2 years on the market without selling, because the price requested was not justified even in a period when nothing seemed hard to sell. It is the case of some land in areas such as Victoria, Floreasca, Dorobanţi, but also of some inter-war villas in Primăverii and Dorobanţi whose owners were refusing any form of negotiation.<br /><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2009-03-17/Buyers+offer+prices+even+70%25+lower+than+those+demanded+by+real+estate+market</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-76644683701981286952009-02-16T23:27:00.000-08:002009-02-16T23:28:50.516-08:00Housing prices could fall by 30% more by end-year<p>Housing prices in Romania will continue to fall this year, according to real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, which estimates a 30% drop of current levels, while recommending for 2009 investments in properties generating high rents.</p><p>According to Cushman, old housing prices fell by 15% in the period September - December 2008, and the new ones by 5-10%, and a 10% decrease in price was registered at overall market level from the beginning of 2009.<br /></p><p>"In total, we talk about a fall in prices of up to 35% since September 2008 to date. From September 2008 until now, 50% of apartments have been removed from sale and offered for rental. Under these circumstances, one cannot make a market price for apartments, so there is a possibility for it to fall another 30% over this year. Thus, a 65% decrease may be reached at the end of 2009", the manager of the company's evaluation department, Dan Ionaşcu, said in a release.</p><p>Most residential buildings have entered "conservation" and all the unstarted projects, in the project stage, or in the stage of obtaining approvals are offered for sale.<br /></p><p>"These projects which were in the stage of planning and organisation and where construction has not started yet represent 70% of all the new projects, on which works started after 2006", the release reads.</p><p>On the other hand, the Cushman analysts believe that the small investors, who purchased a large share of the housing under construction in the past two years, will stand the test of the market crisis, because only 15% of those who contracted bank credits will have problems during this period because of the impossibility to reimburse funds.<br /></p><p>At the same time, there are very many small investors who have contracted bank credits and therefore will not be so affected by what happens in the market, as they offer apartments for rental at moderate prices.</p><p>Similarly, in the residential segment, the most favoured will be the cities where unemployment is very low, respectively those that enjoy the investors' interest, such as Bucharest, Constanţa, Cluj Napoca and Braşov.<br /></p><p>--<br /></p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2009-02-17/Housing+prices+could+fall+by+30%25+more+by+end-year</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-34572385656852523502009-02-08T00:30:00.000-08:002009-02-08T00:32:12.194-08:00BNP Paribas: real estate assets in Romania still expensiveRomania does not offer favourable conditions for the investors interested in buying real estate because prices are still high, say BNP Paribas Real Estate representatives, but who, however, see a good opportunity to develop housing priced up to 100,000 euros.<br /><br />"This year is not a good moment for international investors to buy property in Romania. The market is non-transparent, the investors do not have access to information on the real estate sector, and the difference between the prices requested by the seller and the buyers are willing to pay is still significant", the Deputy Executive Director of BNP Paribas Real Estate, the real estate division of French group BNP Paribas, Henri Faure, told the Mediafax agency.<br />In his opinion, under these circumstances, the developers that will not adapt to the market by lowering prices will have the most to suffer.<br /><br />On the other hand, the BNP Paribas Real Estate representative considered that a very good opportunity on the Romanian market this year would be the development of housing priced up to 100,000 euros, to benefit from a payment of 5% VAT.<br /><br />"The developers must adapt to market needs, to study better its future development. The development of such housing could be a solution to unblock the market," said Faure.<br />He noted that the most optimistic variant for the real estate market is a change of conditions from the second part of the year, if financing will be unblocked.<br /><br />BNP Paribas Real Estate is present in Romania through Atisreal company, which acquired the Romanian company Cornerstone International last year. The Bucharest office provides brokerage, consulting and evaluation services on the residential segment, offices and investments.<br /><br />"This year, we will focus on developing these activities, and, probably, from 2010 we will also bring to the Romanian market other services, namely property management and asset management," Faure mentioned.<br /><br />The Executive Director of BNP Paribas Real Estate Property Management, Laurie Leclerc, said that, on this segment, the company is interested to buy a Romanian company or to enter into a partnership.<br /><br />The Group holds three more companies in Romania, respectively Centelem in consumer credit, Cardif - insurance and Arval - leasing.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2009-02-06/BNP+Paribas%3A+real+estate+assets+in+Romania+still+expensiveManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-59774101524088545732009-01-13T06:22:00.000-08:002009-01-13T06:23:08.705-08:00Home buyers offer 30% less than asking price from the outsetIn the first week of the year, the few people who have voiced interest in acquiring apartments in Bucharest, have in a first stage offered 30-50% less than prices requested by the owners, given the almost entire lack of real estate transactions due to problems on the lending market, as well as to the rapid depreciation of the RON, according to real estate agents. "There are people interested in homes, but they are still hoping prices will go further down, with some of them additionally being scared by the rise in the euro. We had a three-room apartment in the Aviatiei area, for which the owners were asking 150,000 euros, and a client's first offer was 100,000 euros. Still, I haven't heard of transactions being concluded in the first week of the year," said Elena Usainchisa, broker with Nick Intermed agency, which posted turnover worth 285,000 euros in 2007. "From a buyer's position, under the current market conditions, I offer a 50% lower price for any acquisition. There are many owners faced with a liquidity crisis, who are forced to enter talks. They, in turn, have one price for those who only ask and another for those interested in buying," says Gabriel Dragomir, partner with DPA Estate and former senior broker with Indoors Real Estate.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/home-buyers-offer-30-less-than-asking-price-from-the-outset-3736775/Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-69319095627439051192008-12-04T00:23:00.000-08:002008-12-04T00:25:15.238-08:00Colliers cancels contracts for five projects<p>Colliers International real estate consultancy, the biggest player on the domestic market, has cancelled contracts for the sale of five housing complexes of its portfolio in the last few months, including a total of 5,000 housing units, which were due to be developed over several years. More specifically, Colliers is no longer a sales agent for FeliCity and Garden of Eden projects developed by GTC, Stejarii developed by Tiriac, Silver Mountain carried out by a firm controlled by businessman Dan Fischer, close to Poiana Brasov, as well as the 900-housing unit portfolio of Canadian Topolinski, put out for sale under Benevo brand.</p><p>"(...) Developers pay us on the basis of some success fees, and as sales have been weak lately, we, as well as they, were in a delicate situation," explains Ilinca Paun, head of Colliers' residential department.<br /></p><p>Colliers would have generated over 5m euros over several years from the sale of the 5,000 housing units, taking into account an average price of 100,000 euros and a 1% fee for the company. This value is estimative, though.</p><p>The company still holds a significant portfolio of housing projects. A lot of developers delayed some projects this autumn amid the low level of sales, a reason why Colliers is also focusing on related services on the housing market, such as project marketing, research or even the improvement of the image of some projects harmed by the crisis.<br /></p><p>While the level of sales on the housing market was below the 2007 one, Colliers' housing department has seen revenues rise by 25% so far, inclusively due to a series of contracts signed in 2007 and cashed in this year.</p><p>"In 2009 we'll probably see revenues generated by the housing market go down. It will be a difficult year, with part of people no longer able to take out loans, there will be panic related to the general trend of the economy and if the unemployment rate goes up, people will pay more attention to how they spend their money. Still, after European countries come out of recession, the accumulated pressure will lead to market growth," says Paun.</p><p>"We have sufficient resources to keep people in the firm for some time, until the housing market rebounds," said Paun.<br /></p><p>Colliers in 2007 posted 21.2m-euro revenues and 7.3m-euro income, a level hard to reach this year, says Bogdan Georgescu, managing partner with the firm.<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/colliers-cancels-contracts-for-five-projects-3588168/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-56483190871444942672008-11-07T01:04:00.000-08:002008-11-07T01:06:16.724-08:00Prices of old apartments in Bucharest continue to fall<p>Prices of old flats in Bucharest continued to go down in October, by 6% compared with the previous month and by 16% compared with the beginning of the year, reveals the Bucharest Real Estate Index (BREI), put together by real estate consultancy Colliers International.</p><p>The average price of old flats in Bucharest has therefore reached 1,576 euros/square metre, with the most important depreciation occurring in sector six, which comprises districts such as Militari and Crangasi, where prices reached 1,310 euros/square metre, as a result of an almost 13% decline.</p><p>On the other hand, according to the ZF real estate index which takes into account the asking prices on the www.anuntul.ro website, three-room flats in Bucharest have dropped by 12% since the beginning of the year, while in some areas the decline was as steep as 20% (Iancului, Mihai Bravu, Oltenitei).</p><p>The price of new flats remained at the same level in September and October, according to BREI, although a series of smaller companies announced price cuts or various incentives to help facilitate buying a home.</p><p>"Although the asking price remains constant, developers continue with the promotional offers of the summer or launch new ones to boost sales," Colliers officials note. The price drops were caused by the low volume of sales in the last few months, due to both the financial situation that led to higher interests rates and harsher lending terms and to the expectations of the potential buyers that prices would fall, influenced by the situation on the foreign markets.</p><p>In addition, a large part of the demand would come from speculative investors until recently, who have, however, reduced their operations significantly.</p><p>However, not all the prices of old flats fell, as there are still some owners who keep asking for the same prices, without closing a deal.</p><p>"The supply is no longer uniform but divided into two segments; those who keep the prices close to the values of the previous month and those who cut some of the price in the hope they would close a deal. We are therefore seeing a dispute on the market related to the minimal threshold that prices could reach," Colliers officials add.</p><p>Although the number of sale-purchase deals went down, real estate consultants have noticed a rise in the number of lease contracts, of some 15% compared with the summer of 2007.</p><p>"This autumn, many of the clients looking to buy a home, either no longer had access to loans, or were confused by the situation of the market and decided to rent at least for a while," says Adrian Ghimpau, head of the residential department of the Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Romania.</p><p>--<br /></p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/prices-of-old-apartments-in-bucharest-continue-to-fall-3447319/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-44793358952769772912008-10-30T23:18:00.000-07:002008-10-30T23:21:12.731-07:0010% price-cut from owners after negotiationsThe negotiation margin trading in residential real estate transactions reached about 10% in September, in most cities in the country, which indicates the continuation of a downwards trend of the real estate market, informs a release of the real estate network RE / MAX Romania. The negotiation margin represents the difference between the price initially asked by the owner (the list price of the property) and the price at which the transaction is concluded.<br /><br />"Compared to June, the negotiation availability of both parties increased, thus transactions were recorded under the list prices, negotiations over 10% being seldom met today," said Mihaela Alexandroiu, Broker / Owner RE / MAX Bastion, Bucharest. She added that, also as compared to June, the list price dropped by 5-10% for the new apartments and by about 15% in the case of the old ones, while the trading price dropped by 10-20%, which means a cumulative price drop of 15-35%. "As particularly regards the capital, I estimate a decrease in prices of up to 25% in the case of new projects that have sold less than 50% of the units built," Mihaela Alexandroiu also said.<br /><br />The situation is similar in other cities, too, the list prices continuing their downward trend. In Arad, both the list and the trading prices fell by 5% each, as compared to June, while in Brasov list prices have dropped by 10% for the old apartments and even by 20% for the new ones, while the negotiation margin reached 10%. The same 10% negotiation margin is also registered in Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca and Bacău. In Piteşti, the prices of old apartments have dropped by 15-25%, those of the new apartments remained at 950-1200 euros/sqm, and the trading margin is one of the highest, respectively 8 - 12%.<br /><br /><p>As regards the number of transactions, in Bucharest they have seen a slight increase in September, as against August, but the RE / MAX specialists say that this phenomenon occurs each year after the summer months. While a similar trend occurred in Braşov, where falling prices recorded this summer have slightly stimulated transactions in September, in other cities (Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Piteşti, Timişoara, etc.), the number of transactions has not increased after the first autumn month, against the backdrop of the global credit crisis and increased interests rates at national level".<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2008-10-31/10%25+price-cut+from+owners+after+negotiations</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-2985378798096147172008-10-28T14:21:00.001-07:002008-10-28T14:24:16.081-07:00Becali expects land prices to double in five years<p><strong>Businessman George Becali, owner of the Steaua soccer club and one of the top land owners in Bucharest, said he was no longer interested in acquisitions since the outburst of the crisis, but is not willing to lower prices for land he plans to sell, although he currently has no buyers.</strong></p><p> “I am only selling, but will not lower prices. I am negotiating with speculators who want to buy cheaper land. I can hold on to that land, because there is no pressure on me to sell,” Becali told Business Standard. He expects to have more clients interested in that land next spring. <br /><br />With his Arcom construction company, he plans to build several residential buildings on part of the land. “I want to build apartments which I plan to sell at lower prices than those on the market, because I already have the land. After the buildings are finished, I will sell the land and the construction, and will make profit from the selling price,” he said. Becali added that he is not interested in other cities, because apartments there are much cheaper than in Bucharest, while construction costs are similar. <br /><br />Becali owns some 484 hectares of land, located on the outskirts of Bucharest and in the cities of Braila and Pitesti. In the past year alone, he earned some €100 million from selling several plots.<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.standard.ro/articol_65526/becali_expects_land_prices_to_double_in_five_years.html</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-77198298625156772312008-10-28T14:19:00.000-07:002008-10-28T14:20:23.946-07:00GTC: Funding for our ongoing projects is ensured<p>Representatives of Globe Trade Center (GTC), one of the leading real estate developers on the Romanian market, says the company's short term investments amount to 318m euros, with funding for ongoing projects being ensured. The company currently has two residential complexes under construction in Bucharest, shopping centres in Piatra-Neamt and Arad, as well as one of the leading office projects in Bucharest - City Gate, in Piata Presei Libere. The Romanian subsidiary is 46% held by GTC Real Estate, which is in turn controlled by Israeli group Kardan. The two companies are to merge by the end of the year, which will make Kardan a direct shareholder of the local subsidiary. GTC developer has become known in Romania mainly after building and selling office buildings Europe House and America House in Piata Victoriei for almost 150m euros.</p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/gtc-funding-for-our-ongoing-projects-is-ensured-3381923/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-60061578656809538492008-10-28T14:16:00.000-07:002008-10-28T14:18:45.025-07:00Standard & Poor's has downgraded Romania's rating to BB+, with negative outlook<p><strong>Financial rating agency Standard & Poor's has lowered its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to "BB+" from "BBB" and to "B" from "A-" for short-term foreign currency sovereign credit. The outlook is negative in both cases.</strong></p><p>On the other hand, the National Forecasting Commission has revised the estimates concerning 2009 economic growth downwards, from 6.5 percent to 6 percent, and anticipates a slowdown for every sector, given the international turmoil. Up until this autumn, most forecasts made every six months would be revised upwards.</p><p>"This is slight revision influenced by the international context and by an increased caution. We used multi-annual averages a lot to eliminate potential sources of imbalance in the supply-demand ratios and the potential inflationary pressures," CNP chairman Ion Ghizdeanu told ZF.<br />He explained that growth of the economy had multi-annual trends to avoid surprises from forecasts.</p><p>The Romanian economy sped up this year, performing in stark contrast with the economies in the euro zone that signalled that they had entered recession a few months ago. The economic growth in the first half stood at 8.8 percent compared with the same time last year; the yearend estimate is equally optimistic, of 9.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, given that the second half of the year usually has a greater contribution to the GDP formation. The analysts believe that CNP's adjustment of the economic growth is not substantial enough considering the risks related to financing and lending.</p><p>"Uncertainty is the word that best describes next year. Deviations can be very high. The main elements with an important impact on the GDP progress are the slowdown of lending and the recession in the euro zone. The growth pace of lending could go down from about 50 percent to 20 percent," says Ionut Dumitru, chief economist of Raiffeisen Bank.</p><p>The most important decline estimated for the constructions sector, where the growth pace will halve. As a result, this industry is expected to increase by 12.8 percent compared with 28.8 percent this year. The final version of the autumn forecast indicated a 4.7 percent increase of the industry and a 5.8 increase of services, while agriculture will grow by 3.5 percent, given a very good harvest in 2008.</p><p>Compared with the preliminary version of the forecast, published at the end of September, CNP has revised estimates about the industrial sector downward both for 2009 and for 2008, as well.<br />The industry is expected to grow by 4.8 percent compared with 5.4 percent in the previous forecast.</p><p>The impact of international turmoil will also show among consumers, with consumption exuberance to go down, which is not that bad, considering the exaggerated growth of consumption lately. CNP estimates consumption to slow down significantly, from 10 percent increase in 2008 to 7.1 percent in 2009.</p><p>This is a substantial revision of the data, compared with the preliminary forecast that indicated an 11 percent increase for this year and of 7.6 percent for next year.</p><p>The acceleration of the economic growth was alarming for NBR, given the inflationary pressures it generates.</p><p>The final autumn forecast changes the data for this year's inflation upwards from 5.8 percent to 6 percent but maintains next year's estimate at 4.5 percent.</p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/standard-poor-s-has-downgraded-romania-s-rating-to-bb-with-negative-outlook-3381942/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-39173478775355807712008-10-15T00:19:00.000-07:002008-10-15T00:21:21.967-07:00Immoeast's capitalisation drops to 800 million euros, fund plans property sale<p><strong>Austrian investment fund Immoeast, the top buyer of real estate assets in Romania in recent years, will start selling some of these assets on the Romanian market, where it owns properties that were assessed at 3.4 billion euros at the end of June.</strong></p><p>The capitalisation of Immoeast on the Vienna Stock Exchange reached approximately 800 million euros, down 87% from the same time last year when the market value of the company exceeded six billion euros.</p><p>At the same time, the market value of the properties held by the fund was valued at 10.9 billion euros at the end of June, that is in the first financial quarter of the company.</p><p>"After years of dynamic expansion, the group's focus will shift towards consolidation and modification of financial structures. Moreover, we will focus on steps to ensure liquidity by slashing the number of development projects and by the sale of other properties in our portfolio," said Thomas Kleibl, the new spokesman of Immoeast's board of directors, who replaced Karl Petrikovics at the helm of the fund.</p><p>Properties are to be sold in Romania, too, sources on the real estate market say, with this country being Immoeast's most important market and accounting for 31.6% of its entire portfolio. After the decline on the stock market, Immoeast has reduced its chances of raising cash from the capital market.</p><p>The company's debts amounted to 1.64 billion euros at the end of July, and average repayment term was 5.2 years. The banks Immoeast worked with to finance its investments include Erste Bank, Raiffeisen (RZB), Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Hypo Real Estate and Investkredit.</p><p>The most important operational properties that Immoeast holds in Romania include IRIDE, S-Park and Victoria Park business parks, Bucharest Airport Tower and Bucharest Corporate Center office buildings in Bucharest, several shopping complexes - Polus Center in Cluj, Armonia Center in Arad and Euromall Pitesti and a number of logistics centres. The company also owns interests in a number of real estate development companies that operate in Romania, as well, such as Adama Holding, TriGranit and Caterata and has several properties in development under a forward-purchase contract, such as the World Trade Center project in Constanta, Gold Plaza shopping complex in Baia Mare and Euromall Galati.</p><p>Real estate companies are being badly hurt by the international financial crisis, all the more so if they are listed on capital markets, considering the negative trend of the stock markets over the last few months.<br /></p><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.zf.ro/zf-english/immoeast-s-capitalisation-drops-to-800-million-euros-fund-plans-property-sale-3305708/</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-73585432525352544852008-10-06T23:44:00.000-07:002008-10-06T23:45:35.175-07:00Prices of one-room and two-room apartments dropped by over 10%The global financial crisis determined an accentuated drop in prices and an increase in the sales offer. Thus, from March until now, one-room apartment prices have dropped by almost 10%, while two-room apartment prices by 12.6%.<br />According to the latest report of AnunturiParticulari.ro, September marks a significant increase in offers on the apartment sales market, but also a decrease in prices for the seventh consecutive month. "The prices required by owners for their apartments in Bucharest are lower and lower, many of them willing to sell their apartments in order to avoid the risk of higher losses in the next period," says the General Manager of AnunturiParticulari.ro, Silvia Vîlceanu.<br />She also says that, for the real estate market, March is a line of demarcation between the period of spectacular growths and the start of the real estate crisis. "This month is not only the period with the most sales offers, but also with the highest prices for all types of buildings. From March until now, one-room apartment prices have fallen by almost 10%, registering, for the first time this year, a decrease under 70,000 euros. Similarly, two-room apartments have lost 12.6% of the price asked in March, having been put up for sale at an average value of 107,162 euros, in September", Vîlceanu added. At the same time, the four-room apartments are the only apartments that have not changed their market price, as against March, however they see a dramatic drop compared to last month, when their value decreased by 6.8%. "We estimate that, by the end of the year, old apartments market will not register a stabilisation in the number of offers, given that the sale decision is generally influenced by the evolution of the market. The financial instability of the international markets will also produce effects on the Romanian real estate market, through a continuous decline in old apartment prices", considers the General Manager of AnunturiParticulari.ro. According to the monitoring report conducted by AnunturiParticulari.ro, the sales offer for old apartments increased by 40%, as compared to September last year, and last month, the Bucharesters put up for sale 3621 apartments, while last year in September, the offer was only 2574 housing units.<br /><p>--</p><p>Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2008-10-07/Prices+of+one-room+and+two-room+apartments+dropped+by+over+10%25</p>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-72136165877292600872008-09-30T23:56:00.000-07:002008-09-30T23:59:13.103-07:00Popp, Impact: Apartment prices could fall by 16% if Government cancels VATThe price of apartments could fall by 16% if the government cancelled the VAT, and by 5% if the private sector and the entrepreneurs reduced the profit margin by a third, said on Tuesday, Dan Ioan Popp, President of Impact Developer and Contractor.<br /><br />Similarly, if the government and the local authorities invested in utilities and public services in the proximity of residential districts, the price would fall by 12%, and if they offered free land for the construction of housing, prices would drop by 10%, said Popp, at the conference "Romania Construct and Real Estate Forum 2008".<br /><br />"A major contributor to the actual final price borne by the buyer customer should be added: the bank, by the financing costs. The annual interest rate, cut from 15 to 10%, applied to a credit for 20 years, reduces the total cost of the apartment by about 30%", said Popp, who added that there are sub-variants of involving those responsible for price reductions.<br /><br />Thus, if the VAT were reduced to 5% and the collected amount were returned by the government to the constructors and developers, they could increase wages for construction workers and specialists by about 30%.<br /><br />Also, apartment prices could fall if the government and the authorities redeemed or bought at market prices the investments in utilities, schools, kindergartens and dispensaries, made by developers in residential districts or bought from the market land plots to be supplied to the population or the developers, free of charge or at low prices, for the construction of apartments.<br />At the same time, prices could drop "if the Romanian state (...) begins to charge a intermediation / outsourcing fee from the state where the Romanian citizens emigrated, and now makes practically free use of the resources built on the public budget of Romanians" Popp continued.<br />In his opinion, the collected amounts should be used in areas where the biggest labour deficiencies are found, in order to keep the workers or to attract substitutes from rural areas, or immigrants.<br /><br />"We believe that the world financial-banking crisis will determine a decrease in the share of investment in construction", says Popp.<br /><br />By now, Impact Developer and Contractor has invested about 20 million euro in public utilities and units providing public services in over 20 housing ensembles.<br /><br />--<br /><br />source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2008-10-01/Popp%2C+Impact%3A+Apartment+prices+could+fall+by+16%25+if+Government+cancels+VATManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-8218578528357412042008-09-26T00:34:00.000-07:002008-09-26T00:37:04.564-07:00Real estate transaction value fell by 43% in H1, to 902 million eurosThe real estate transactions carried out in the first half of the year totalled 902 million, down by 43% over the same period last year, Romania ranking second among the countries of the region, in terms of operation value, according to a survey of the company Jones Lang LaSalle.<br /><br />"The total value of real estate transactions in the first half of 2008 in Romania fell as against the record level of 2007, the investment activity as measured by the number of concluded transactions being particularly affected. The volume of transactions for the first half of 2008 was 902 million euros, representing a 43% drop, as compared to the same period last year, namely before the global financial crisis, shown in the Bucharest City Report of the real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle.<br /><br />In the first half, transfers of high-value property dominated the Romanian real estate market. Thus, four transactions, in a total amount of 750 million euros, represented more than 80% of the total investment volume.<br /><br />The biggest transaction was the purchase of the Upground Estates project in Bucharest by the RREEF Fund, in amount of 340 million euros.<br /><br />Also, three other significant transactions were concluded, aimed at finalised projects: Italian group IGD acquired the Winmarkt portfolio for 182.5 million euros, AEW Europe bought from BelRom the European Retail Park Târgu Mureş for 90 million euros, and DEGI took over the Iris Shopping Center from local developer Avrig 35 for 140 million euros.<br /><br />The causes for real estate transaction value drops are, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, the global financial crisis, which continues to restrict the ability of some buyers to obtain good financing conditions, and the large supply of spaces, leading to an increased competition between Central and Eastern Europe products and those from Western Europe to attract investors.<br /><br />"Despite lower investment activity at present, the Romanian real estate continues to show very strong foundations. The demand for space from tenants continues to be very solid", reads the report. Under these circumstances, investment yields continued to grow, those for "premium" office buildings being around the value of 6.5%, while for retail they are 6.75% and for logistics spaces have reached 8%.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2008-09-26/Real+estate+transaction+value+fell+by+43%25+in+H1%2C+to+902+million+eurosManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-8417694886312565462008-08-28T22:49:00.000-07:002008-08-28T22:50:51.742-07:002008 will be the first difficult year for real estate consultantsThe top five real estate consultancy companies in terms of turnover posted an over 26% profit margin last year, while turnover doubled (49 million euros in revenues). However, the growth rate is expected to slow down significantly this year, following the international credit crunch that has affected the domestic real estate market.<br /><br />"This is a difficult year, in which three markets are slowing down and are not performing as well as they did last year. We continued to grow in the first half, but the problems on the market in the first six months will catch up with us in the second half. This goes for the entire market, but, speaking exclusively about Colliers, we set out, conservatively, to reach the same turnover and profit as in 2007," states Bogdan Georgescu, managing partner and shareholder of Colliers International.<br /><br />Colliers posted 21.2 million-euro revenues and 7.3 million euros in profit and was also the market leader in 2007, according to data on the Economy and Finance Ministry's website.<br /><br />Number two on the market was CBRE Eurisko, whose business stood at 14.4 million euros and profit reached 3 million euros, while Jones Lang LaSalle ranked third in the first year since its comeback on the market, with 4.6 million-euro revenues and 1 million-euro profit.<br /><br />The other top five companies are Cushman & Wakefield Activ Consulting (4.5 million-euro business and 1.2 million-euro profit) and DTZ Echinox (4.3 million-euro business and 0.4 million-euro profit), so that this is the first year when companies that belong to international networks exclusively dominate the market, after CB Richard Ellis bought Eurisko Consulting at the beginning of the year and Regatta failed to make the top five.<br /><br />After Eurisko posted over 150% business growth in 2007, the company's officials would not go into details about this year's targets.<br /><br />"Whereas early in the year, we stated we set out to attain 40% growth, I can only say that the target remains the same. It remains to be seen whether we reach it or exceed it, but I do not want to comment too much on the subject until the end of the year when we draw the line," states Radu Lucianu, managing director of CBRE Eurisko.<br /><br />The cumulated profits of the five companies amounted to 12.9 million euros in 2007, which made real estate consultancy one of the most profitable service businesses.<br /><br />The market is affected by the decline in the sale of flats this year, as well as by the apathy of the real estate mergers and acquisitions segment, as only a few major deals were concluded, generally without real estate consultants. One of the few exceptions was the sale of the Iris Shopping Centre in Titan district of Bucharest, where CBRE Eurisko assisted the buyers, DEGI.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.zf.ro/articol_184679/2008_will_be_the_first_difficult_year_for_real_estate_consultants.htmlManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-38856375523615360462008-07-30T21:25:00.000-07:002008-07-30T21:26:16.078-07:00Price of flats in Bucharest continues to fallThe prices of flats in Bucharest fell by 5% from January through to July this year, as a result of the reduction of prices especially over the last two months, the ZF index reveals. The price a of three-room flat in the capital, built between 1980 and 1990, went down by 3% on average in July, after the average price per square metre reached 1,920 euros, compared with 1,976 euros in June, according to the real estate index put together by ZF based on sale prices displayed on anuntul.ro website. "Prices continue to go down, and as far as deals are concerned, they are at 25% of what they were at the beginning of the year," said Gabriel Dragomir, senior broker of real estate agency Indoors Real Estate Group. June and July were the first months in the last few years when asking prices went down, according to the ZF research. Asking prices can be as much as 20% higher than those at which deals are actually struck.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.zf.ro/articol_181680/price_of_flats_in_bucharest_continues_to_fall.htmlManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-90539132914244596482008-07-29T11:26:00.000-07:002008-07-29T11:27:40.393-07:00Housing sales crisis forces developers to offer €10,000 discounts<span style="font-weight: bold;">The drop in sales of new apartments in the first half of this year has forced real estate developers building for the middle class to offer discounts or promotional objects worth €5,000-€10,000 of the price of the sale, according to main players on the local real estate market. Bonuses can be in the form of a Logan car, a bicycle, kitchen furniture, or even a holiday.<br /><br /></span>Sales of new apartments dropped by some 50 percent in the first six months, compared to the monthly average in 2007. April and May were critical, because rumors started circulating at the beginning of the year, especially in February and March, about a Real estate market crisis.<br /><br />“Some 80 percent of developers are offering discounts worth €5,000-€10,000. Promotional offers are meant to stimulate sales and enable the developer to meet his plan for which a financing contract was signed. Normally, as soon as developers obtain financing from the bank, the latter insists on the sale of a certain number of apartments within a given period, in order to qualify for the rest of the loan,” according to a declaration for Business Standard by Ilinca Paun, Director of the Residential Division of the Colliers International real estate advisory company.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.standard.ro/articol_54062/housing_sales_crisis_forces_developers_to_offer____10_000_discounts.html <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Manolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-73711416330876575592008-07-28T22:22:00.000-07:002008-07-28T22:23:09.159-07:00Notaries: Real estate deals down by 5% in JuneThe number of deals on the domestic real estate market has gone down over the last two months, by as much as 5% in June, compared with the same time last year, according to the data the National Union of Notaries Public of Romania (UNNPR) sent to ZF. After growth rates of 10.3%, 32.3%, 11.2% and 22.5% from January through to April compared with the same time last year, the number real estate deals fell in May and June by 3.5% and 5.3%. Therefore notaries certified 43,196 deals in May, compared with 44,749 in May 2007, and the number of transactions involving buildings fell to 40,383 in June, compared with 42,648 in June 2007. Over the last few months, the real estate market slowed down as a result of the bad news concerning the money troubles of some foreign funds, as well as expectations created on the market about price declines due to the new lending restrictions prepared by the NBR and to the increase in rates on RON and euros.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.zf.ro/articol_181378/notaries__real_estate_deals_down_by_5__in_june_.htmlManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-16359852469510833872008-07-25T10:48:00.000-07:002008-07-25T10:49:26.930-07:00Bulgaria's real estate market: Romanians invest in apartments at the seasideDozens of Romanians have bought luxury apartments in famous Bulgarian seaside resorts. With only 75,000 euro the price for a one room apartment in Bucharest, people can buy two for this price in one Bulgarian seaside resort, Golden Sands. Another option in Bulgaria is in Ruse, the closest city to the Romanian border south of Bucharest, where a house is sold with 5,000 euro. In Ruse real estate agents complain that Romanians doubled the household prices. Even so, the most expensive apartments there do no exceed 60,000 euro.<br /><br />In Romania, Bulgarian households can be purchased through the real estate company Bulgariainvest. Director Andrei Muresan says that so far his company sold 50 apartments in Sunny Beach and Golden Sands - top destinations on the Bulgarian seaside.<br /><br />Romanians who bought an apartment over there declare that they now have a house for holidays but also a very good investment. They declared that they might even consider renting or selling, depending on how the market changes.<br /><br />In Ruse, Romanians invest in houses. Aleksander Iordanov and his family own the oldest real estate company in Ruse. He declared that in the last period, he sold dozens of properties to Romanian customers.<br /><br />He adds that those buying do not live there but they consider that in a few years, they will be able to sell at a better price and earn some good profits. The area has great potential, especially that more and more Romanians are tempted to buy there. Even now, there are some 2 million Romanians who would rather shop in Ruse than in Romania.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://english.hotnews.ro/stiri-business-3705977-video-bulgarias-real-estate-market-romanians-invest-apartments-the-seaside.htmManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-81707569802032375482008-07-20T01:26:00.000-07:002008-07-20T01:27:39.969-07:00Constanda sells 1.63 ha of French Village for 68m eurosBusinessman Constantin Constanda has received around 68 million euros from the sale of 1.63 hectares of land in Satul Francez (French Village) to Greek firm Raptis Kavouras, a deal that put the entire 2.8-hectare plot owned by Constanda at 120 million euros. In March, in one of the biggest scandals on the real estate market, Constanda became part owner in the French Village in exchange for Bordei Park with the Bucharest City Hall.<br /><br />He acquired the park from two individuals, who had bought it from the two people it had been given back to, Dumitru Tudor and Eugen Lincaru. Constanda could not be contacted by the time this issue was ready for print.<br /><br />The purchased lot includes nine villas whose rental contracts range from 2,000 to 4,000 dollars and will expire by next spring. "We probably won't start working on the new project until next year, while a team of architects has already started design work. The owner did not wish to sell everything, but we might buy the rest, as well," Lucian Mateescu, general manager of Raptis Kavouras, told ZF.<br /><br />At a price of 4,200 euros/square metre, the sale of the land which houses Satul Francez (French Village) is a record deal on the segment of large plots, located in luxury areas of Bucharest.<br /><br />Negotiations for the 16,300 square metre plot took less than two months, but a price was decided on in just ten minutes, although the starting price was less than 10% higher than the value of the transaction.<br /><br />"This was a transaction that we worked on day and night, and in the last three days the final details were discussed for 50 hours. We really wanted this land, and, according to our information, at least three other companies were also interested. Price negotiations started from 4,500 euros/square metre, but it only took around 5 minutes to make a decision," said Mateescu.<br /><br />Mateescu met Constanda on May 22, while the deal occurred less than two months later on July 15, during a period when big real estate deals are rare.<br /><br />"When it comes to prices of tens of millions of euros, the market is not overcrowded with buyers under the current conditions, so this is not exactly perfect timing. On the other hand, we believed the position of the land is unique, because there aren't any other large plots in the central-northern part of the city," added Mateescu.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.zf.ro/articol_180136/constanda_sells_1_63_ha_of_french_village_for_68m_euros.htmlManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292927839106019773.post-810065796455089762008-07-17T21:37:00.000-07:002008-07-17T21:43:09.968-07:00Time taken to sell houses up 20% in last six monthsThe average period in which a real estate property is put up for sale and finally gets to be traded grew by 20% in the last six months, according to representatives of the real estate company RE/MAX Romania.<br /><br />"The average time for the sale of real estate properties grew by 20% in the last six months, reaching even up to 12 weeks. However, if the selling price is 10 to 30% below current prices in the market, the building or the dwelling sells within 30 days. We had cases in the RE/MAX network when, in the same conditions, the properties were sold in 5 days", said Paul Dumbrăvanu, Broker/ Owner of real estate agency RE/MAX Star.<br /><br />According to the RE/MAX statistics, the period during which a property enjoys maximum interest from the potential buyers is five weeks, at present. "After this time limit, the interest of the buyers for the property drops to around 15%, starting from the 7th week of stationing in the market, requiring the repositioning of the property in terms of price, so that the interest for it would rise again", is the opinion of Dan Tărăcilă from RE/MAX Star.<br /><br />According to RE/MAX representatives, real estate assessment is carried out through three main methods and techniques: direct comparison method (the estimation of the market value is made by comparing it to similar properties, this technique offering a fairly accurate picture of the value of real estate), the cost method (which estimates the cost to construct the existing building and then deducts the depreciation of the evaluated property, estimated at the date of the evaluation) and, respectively, the yield method (the property is considered as an investment that generates an income).<br /><br />RE/MAX Romania registered a growth of over 100% in its office network, in the last 12 months, from 11 offices in June 2007, to 23 active offices in the same month of this year, other offices already being under establishment. As regards the number of real estate agents, RE/MAX Romania had a total of five agents in January 2007, while their number amounted to 43 in June 2007. Over the last 12 months, the number of RE/MAX real estate agents increased by 147%, currently amounting to 109.<br /><br />At global level, RE/MAX is one of the leaders in real estate sales, according to independent statistics conducted in this industry: a RE/MAX real estate agent trades, on average, 4.5 million dollars a year.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/In%20brief/2008-07-18/Time+taken+to+sell+houses+up+20%25+in+last+six+monthsManolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08037591554114623770noreply@blogger.com1