The Romanian residential market experienced a notable downturn in H1 2025, with national home sales decreasing by 3.4% compared to the same period last year. Approximately 74,500 residential units were sold across the country. The Bucharest and Ilfov region, a key market, saw an even steeper decline of 7.9%, with around 25,700 units sold.
The decrease in sales in the capital region is primarily attributed to a roughly 10% drop in Bucharest itself, despite a 5% increase in residential sales in Ilfov.
This disparity is largely due to a shrinking stock of new homes available in Bucharest, while more deliveries are occurring in its neighbouring localities. 2024 marked the lowest number of home deliveries in Bucharest and its surroundings in five years, with similar low volumes estimated for 2025, which is already negatively impacting sales.
Andrei Sârbu, CEO of SVN Romania, said: "The decrease of home deliveries is the biggest problem for Bucharest’s residential market. At a national level, for example in Cluj-Napoca, a market more expensive than Bucharest, more homes were sold in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. And, unfortunately, the delivery issue in Bucharest will not improve in the short term."
While Bucharest struggles with supply, other regional markets show varied performance. Constanța emerged as the second-largest regional market (excluding Bucharest-Ilfov), experiencing a significant 23.6% annual increase in sales in H1 2025. Cluj also saw a positive trend with a 12.7% rise in residential sales.
Meanwhile, Timiș registered a 4.5% decrease, and Brașov experienced a 9% decline in H1 2025.
