Romania's new Territorial Planning, Urbanism and Construction Code (CATUC) is set to reshape the real estate market through two key provisions: the cap on urban planning coefficients and the uncertainty surrounding the territorial infrastructure contribution, according to Crosspoint Real Estate.
For the residential sector, the cap on floor area ratios (CUT) will limit the use of Zonal Urban Plans to increase building density, shifting land valuations away from speculative potential towards guaranteed buildability. "The greatest impact on land valuation will come from the cap on CUT. This will reduce the speculative component of land prices and shift valuations toward guaranteed buildability rather than the potential to obtain higher urban planning indicators through a PUZ," said Oana Popescu, Head of Residential at Crosspoint Real Estate. She expects a growing divide between sites with established planning status and those traded on future development assumptions.
The territorial infrastructure contribution, intended to fund infrastructure and social amenities, adds further uncertainty as its calculation method has yet to be defined in secondary legislation. "This uncertainty may delay land acquisitions and, consequently, the development of new projects, further reducing the supply of new housing and contributing to price increases. Until the cost becomes predictable, developers will either try to factor it into land prices or make transactions conditional on its clarification," noted Oana Popescu. At a time when housing supply is already under pressure in Romania's major cities, any slowdown in investment risks widening the gap between supply and demand.
In the office sector, Mădălina Marinescu, Head of Office Agency at Crosspoint Real Estate, expects the new framework to favour projects in established business districts that can attract occupiers before construction begins. "We will see greater importance attached to pre-lease agreements, more restrictive financing conditions for projects without anchor tenants, increased interest in phased developments and a clear preference for developers with strong equity positions and solid balance sheets," she said. The shift from speculative development towards demand-led delivery is already visible, and CATUC is expected to accelerate it.
"In a market such as Bucharest, where the pipeline of new office supply is already limited, any measure that reduces the ability to rapidly develop new projects can influence land values, development pipelines, delivery volumes and, ultimately, rental levels for high-quality office space," explained Mădălina Marinescu. Over the medium term, she expects constrained supply and concentrated occupier demand to support the performance of modern, energy-efficient and well-located office buildings.
