The number of apartments sold during the project phase in Romania is decreasing, Andreea Comsa, managing director of Premier Estate Management, said at this year’s CEDER conference. “Although the market is dynamic, there are not as many off-plan sales as there were last year or two years ago,” Comsa said. The drop is do to a number of political and economic factors, including the euro’s growth and inflation. The National Bank of Romania recently increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent to tackle the sharp rise in prices, while the bank’s governor, Mugur Isarescu, said borrowing costs would remain below inflation. Comsa believes there will be a slight correction for very cheap apartments located on the outskirts of cities, and customers will pay more attention to projects built by serious developers. Beatrice Dumitrascu of One United Properties said at CEDER that both developers and customers are getting more savvy. “We now have higher-quality projects, and our customers are more educated and ask pertinent questions,” she said.
