Romanian Real Estate Market Sees Slight Growth in March, Mortgage Activity Accelerates

The National Agency for Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity (ANCPI) has published full statistics for Romania’s real estate market as of March 2025.

Over 14,600 real estate transactions were recorded nationwide in March—up nearly 2% compared to March 2024. Significant year-over-year increases were reported in Cluj (+21%) and Constanța (+40%).

March also became the strongest month of 2025 so far, with transaction volumes up 6% compared to February.

Bucharest Market Softens Slightly, But Hits 2025 Peak

Bucharest saw more than 4,400 property transactions in March, down almost 5% compared to March 2024. However, like the national trend, March was the city’s most active month of the year, with transactions up over 2% from February.

Q1 2025: National Market Slightly Down, Constanța Outperforms

In the first three months of the year, Romania recorded nearly 37,000 property transactions, reflecting a 5% decline year-over-year.

Bucharest followed the national trend, with approximately 11,300 transactions, also marking a 5% drop.

However, Constanța emerged as the top-performing county, reporting almost 2,700 transactions—a 39% increase—surpassing even Cluj, which recorded over 2,400 transactions (+13%).

Only one other county, Timiș, exceeded the 2,000-transaction threshold, despite a 12% decrease. Meanwhile, Ilfov showed a modest increase of over 2%.

Among major counties, Iași reported the sharpest decline, with 1,300 transactions, down 58% year-over-year. Still, March was the county’s best-performing month so far in 2025.

Mortgage Activity Growing Faster Than Transactions

Continuing the trend seen in 2024, the number of active mortgages in 2025 is growing at a faster pace than property transactions.

ANCPI data shows that over 8,600 active mortgages were recorded in March—an increase of nearly 15% year-over-year. In Bucharest, more than 2,600 mortgages were registered, up 10% compared to March 2024.

Nearly all major counties saw increases in mortgage activity. A standout performer was Ilfov, where mortgage numbers doubled to 800. In contrast, Constanța reported only 450 active mortgages, down 48%, despite strong transaction growth. Iași also declined, with 350 mortgages (-33%).

In total, 22,500 active mortgages were registered across Romania in the first quarter of 2025, a 13% increase compared to Q1 2024. Key increases were seen in:

• Bucharest: over 7,100 mortgages (+15%)
• Timiș: +26%
• Ilfov: +47%
• Cluj: +33%

Constanța, however, saw a 13% decrease, with 1,300 mortgages reported.

It’s important to note that ANCPI’s figures include both new mortgages and refinanced loans, though no separate breakdown is provided. Refinancing remains popular due to the availability of fixed interest rates for 3–5 years.

Interest Rates Hold Steady, IRCC and ROBOR Slightly Down

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) maintained its key policy rate at 6.5% in March—a level unchanged since August 2024. As a result, mortgage interest rates are expected to remain relatively stable in the near term.

The 3-month ROBOR index, used for mortgages issued before May 1, 2019, stood at 5.90% at the end of March, a slight decrease from 5.92%.

As of April 1, the new value for the IRCC index, applicable to post-May 2019 mortgages, came into effect. For the April 1–June 30, 2025 period, IRCC is 5.55%, down from 5.66% previously.

Building Permits: Modest Growth in Urban Areas, Authorised Area Down

The National Institute of Statistics (INS) has also released construction permit data for February 2025.

Nationwide, about 2,600 building permits were issued—a 2% increase over February 2024. The growth was driven by urban areas, which issued 800 permits (+6%), while rural areas accounted for 1,800 permits (+1%).

However, the total authorised building area decreased by 5% to 601,000 square meters. Urban area permits accounted for 302,000 sqm (-10%), while rural areas recorded 299,000 sqm (-0.6%).

For the first two months of 2025:

• 4,500 permits were issued nationwide (+3.4%)
• Urban areas: 1,400 permits (+6%)
• Rural areas: 3,100 permits (+2%)

The total authorised construction area reached nearly 1.1 million square meters, a 1% increase overall, driven by rural growth (+7%), despite a 4% urban decline.

Over 10,000 Homes Approved in Jan–Feb 2025

Based on issued permits, over 10,100 homes were authorised for construction nationwide in the first two months of the year—up 9% year-over-year.

In Bucharest, however, the number of authorised homes dropped by 12% to around 500 units.

Top performers by county include:

• Ilfov: ~1,600 homes (+35%)
• Iași: ~1,500 homes (+135%)

Meanwhile, major declines were seen in:

• Constanța: ~800 homes (-42%)
• Timiș: ~700 homes (-33%)

EUR/RON Exchange Rate Stable in March

According to BNR data, the euro exchange rate—used as the benchmark for most real estate transactions—averaged 4.9768 RON in March 2025. This reflects a slight increase of 0.11% compared to March 2024, and virtually unchanged from 4.9770 RON in February 2025.