Bucharest\u2019s residential market showed signs of recovery in Q2 of 2026, after falling 16.6% in the first three months of the year, according to Crosspoint Real Estate, the International Associate of Savills in Romania.<\/p>\n
The number of transactions involving individual units in Bucharest rose 2.2% in April, nearly 16% in May, and over 26% in June compared to the same months in 2025, marking three consecutive months of growth. Overall, this rebound tempered the decline for the semester as a whole to just 1.7% compared to H1 2025, at just over 21,000 units transacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the wider metropolitan area, including Ilfov County, the decline was even smaller, at just 1.3%, with 25,634 homes sold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first-half figures confirm a trend we\u2019ve been tracking for several quarters. Bucharest\u2019s residential market is no longer expanding evenly but in a differentiated way, depending on area, segment, and the quality of supply. The under-2% adjustment in citywide demand actually shows an increasingly clear polarization between areas with limited supply and solid demand, such as District 1, and the rest of the market,\u201d said Ilinca Timofte, Head of Research, Crosspoint Real Estate.<\/p>\n
Most transactions in the first half of the year took place in Districts 3 and 1, with 12,726 and 9,573 units, respectively. District 3 also leads in new housing deliveries, with 11,447 units completed between 2022 and 2025, while District 1 registered the fewest new homes delivered citywide over the same period, just 4,627. Demand in the area, nonetheless, remained among the highest in Bucharest, while supply was kept low by a slow permitting process.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuyers are less often choosing the most affordable option and more often choosing the area where they feel comfortable long-term, close to schools, hospitals, transport, and parks. Price still matters, but more and more Bucharest residents are willing to pay a premium for a location that simplifies their daily life,\u201d said Oana Popescu, Head of Residential.<\/p>\n
Demand was stronger in areas such as Theodor Pallady, in District 3 (mid-market segment), or in northern Bucharest (upper-mid and premium segments), than in the more affordable areas of the south and west. According to Crosspoint, the explanation increasingly comes down to infrastructure. Buyers felt the difference in quality not so much in the residential projects themselves, but in the poor state of public transport, access to schools and hospitals, and the availability of parks in outlying areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the market level, after a 20% increase in 2025, new-home prices slowed significantly in the first half of 2026. The average net price per square meter in Bucharest topped EUR 2,600, up 5% from December 2025. A further signal of stabilization comes from residential construction costs, which rose just 1% in the first quarter, in line with the European average.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Geographically, the west and south remain the most affordable areas (EUR 1,850-2,200\/sqm), the east remains a predominantly mid-market segment (EUR 2,600-2,900\/sqm), while the north continues to be the most expensive, with prices exceeding EUR 3,650\/sqm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This pragmatic, selective buying behavior is driven, in large part, by a series of recent macroeconomic and regulatory developments. Annual inflation remains the highest in the EU (9.7% in May 2026), the labor market is increasingly strained, and the VAT increase on housing, together with the entry into force of Law 207\/2025, which introduces stricter buyer-protection requirements and complicates financing for projects based on off-plan sales, has significantly raised the cost and risk associated with buying a home.<\/p>\n