Homebuying intentions are rising in Romania, but fewer people are actually purchasing homes, as affordability pressures reshape the residential market. A new report by Colliers noted a widening gap between demand and completed transactions.<\/p>\n
According to the survey, conducted among 1,000 urban residents, 42.5% of respondents plan to buy a home within the next 6-12 months, up from 35.2% a year earlier. However, transaction volumes fell by around 20% in the first two months of 2026, both in Bucharest and nationwide.<\/p>\n
At the same time, homeownership is declining, with the rate dropping to 70.5% in 2026 from 73% last year, while the share of renters increased significantly to 15.9% from 11.3%.<\/p>\n
Consultants say the trend reflects deeper structural challenges rather than a temporary slowdown. Rising property prices, higher financing costs, and limited supply of new housing are making it increasingly difficult for buyers, especially young people and lower-income households, to turn their intentions into actual purchases.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, renting is becoming a longer-term solution-not always by choice, but as a result of these constraints. Demand hasn\u2019t disappeared; it has become latent, waiting for better conditions before it turns into actual transactions,\u201d explained Gabriel Bl\u0103ni\u021b\u0103, Director of Valuation & Advisory Services at Colliers Romania.<\/p>\n
Buyers are also becoming more selective, taking into account not just the purchase price but also long-term costs such as energy efficiency, access to transport, and overall quality. As a result, well-located and energy-efficient properties continue to attract interest, while others struggle to sell without price adjustments.<\/p>\n
The pressure is most visible among people under 35, for whom the transition from renting to owning is becoming slower and more difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Analysts said the key issue is no longer demand, but affordability, driven by high prices, borrowing costs, and a mismatch between supply and buyer budgets.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Colliers expects the market to remain cautious, with transaction volumes closely tied to financing conditions and the pace of new housing developments.<\/p>\n
irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n
(Photo source: T<\/a>ero Vesalainen\/Dreamstime.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Homebuying intentions are rising in Romania, but fewer people are actually purchasing homes, as affordability pressures reshape the residential market. A new report by Colliers noted a widening gap between demand and completed transactions. According to the survey, conducted among 1,000 urban residents, 42.5% of respondents plan to buy a home within the next 6-12 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}