Romania’s residential property market is showing a striking divergence in 2026. Home prices continue to rise in nominal terms, even as inflation, weaker transactions, expensive borrowing and limited housing supply put growing pressure on buyers.
National house prices rose 7.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, accelerating from 6.7% in the previous quarter, according to Eurostat data cited by Global Property Guide. Prices also increased 3.2% quarter-on-quarter.
But the headline increase masks a weaker picture. Inflation stood at 9.6% during the quarter, meaning Romanian house prices fell by around 1.6% in inflation-adjusted terms. The gap between nominal and real price growth has become a defining feature of the market.
The trend extends beyond 2026. Romanian house prices have increased every year in nominal terms since 2015, but inflation-adjusted prices declined in each of the four years from 2022 to 2025.
Bucharest leads the price growth
Bucharest has emerged as one of the strongest markets, particularly for new homes. Average asking prices for new apartments reached €2,636 per sq m in June 2026, up 21% from a year earlier. Resale prices rose 10% to €2,259 per sq m.
Cluj-Napoca remains the country's most expensive major market, with new apartments approaching €3,500 per sq m and resale homes at around €3,300 per sq m. Timisoara recorded an 11% rise in resale prices, while Brasov and Iasi also registered gains.
The sharp difference between new-build and resale prices in Bucharest partly reflects a shift in the composition of supply, with completions concentrated in higher-specification projects and the delivery pipeline remaining thin.
Demand remains, but affordability is tightening
Rising prices are not being matched by transaction volumes. Around 68,000 individual residential units changed hands nationwide in the first half of 2026, about 9% fewer than a year earlier. Transactions fell sharply at the beginning of the year before recovering in the second quarter.
Bucharest has performed better, with transactions recovering through April, May and June. However, the broader market continues to face an affordability squeeze.
A Colliers survey found that 42.5% of urban residents planned to buy a home within six to 12 months, up from 35.2% a year earlier. At the same time, the share of respondents renting rose to 15.9% from 11.3%, suggesting that some households are delaying ownership as prices and financing costs rise.
The challenge is particularly acute among younger buyers. A Deloitte survey found that 78% of Romanian Gen Z respondents and 85% of millennials said they could not afford a home of their own.
Supply could keep prices under pressure
Housing supply offers another explanation for the market's resilience. Romania completed 11,876 homes in the first quarter, an 8.3% increase from a year earlier and the first quarterly rise since 2022. However, residential building permits fell 9.6% in the first half of 2026, raising concerns about future supply.
Bucharest is seeing a stronger development pipeline, with authorised residential floor area rising 3.6 times in the first five months of the year. Yet the increase is concentrated in a smaller number of large projects.
Rentals gain ground as ownership becomes harder
The affordability squeeze is also pushing more households towards rentals. Rental demand in Bucharest increased by roughly 40% year-on-year in the first quarter, according to The List Estates.
However, rents have not kept pace with property prices. Gross residential rental yields averaged 5.87% in the third quarter, down from 6.55% in the first quarter of 2025. Bucharest offered an average yield of 6.91%, while Cluj-Napoca recorded just 4.56%.
For buyers, the market is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Prices are rising, but real incomes are falling. The average net wage increased 4.3% year-on-year in March, yet declined 5.1% in real terms after accounting for inflation.
Romania's housing market may not be heading towards an immediate correction. Limited supply and continued demand for well-connected homes are keeping prices supported. But with inflation and borrowing costs weighing on purchasing power, the bigger challenge is increasingly clear: how long can prices continue rising when buyers' real incomes are moving in the opposite direction?
