The volume of mortgage loans in RON granted by banks doubled in the last three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, and exceeded RON 10 billion, according to the latest data published by the National Bank of Romania, quoted in a press release by Imobiliare.ro Finance."The lending market is coming back strongly after an extremely difficult period marked by uncertainty and high financing costs. More and more Romanians are now looking to take out a loan and are increasingly interested in working with a credit broker to obtain the most advantageous financing conditions," says the source.At the same time, 187,500 properties were transacted nationwide, up 3% from 2022, data from the National Agency of Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity, cited in the same release, show.Of the total, 49,700 were apartments, a segment where an advance of about 9% can be observed compared to the end of the previous year.For the whole of last year, there was a 31% increase in the volume of mortgage loans in RON, up to RON 31 billion. In the case of consumer loans, the advance was 13% in this period, up to about RON 28.7 billion.Specialists of the credit brokerage division of the real estate company estimate reductions in variable interest rates starting with the middle of this year, provided that the forecast decline in inflation will further reduce the existing pressure on interest rates.On the other hand, they forecast an increase in the price of housing in 2024, amid the increase in the reduced VAT rate from 5% to 9% for housing up to EUR 120,000, the alarming decline in the supply of available properties on the residential market, but also a potential increase in demand amid the reduction in interest rates.
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu will be part of the jury that will judge the films in the main competition of this year’s Venice Film Festival - Venezia 82. The jury, headed by American director Alexander Payne, includes French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé, Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero, Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof, Brazilian actress, writer, and […]
Romania continues to face significant prison overcrowding, according to the Council of Europe’s latest data, released on Friday, July 18. The 2024 Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations (SPACE I) show that Romania is among six countries in Europe with severe overcrowding, housing 116 inmates for every 100 available places. The report, which...
Chris Hemsworth returns to Disney+ in August with a new season of the National Geographic documentary series Limitless, this time focused not just on longevity, but on discovering how to live better. Titled Limitless: Live Better Now, the three-part season follows Hemsworth through physical, emotional, and mental challenges across six countries, with one standout episode […]
The Black Sea 200 Regatta 2025, Romania’s first non-stop offshore regatta with a 200 nautical mile route, takes place between July 21 and 27. Now in its first edition, the event brings together more than 10 boats from Romania and Bulgaria, according to the organizers. The endurance course will start and finish in the Romanian […]
The National Environmental Guard has fined an illegally operating zoo in Dâmbovița county, southern Romania, a total of RON 120,000 following a joint inspection that uncovered serious violations, including the lack of environmental authorization and inadequate conditions for wild animals kept in captivity. The zoo was reportedly charging RON 50 per person for entry and […]
The National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) and engineering company Enevo Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to strengthen cybersecurity in Romania’s energy sector. The partnership aims to test and develop monitoring and alerting technologies for cyberattacks, and to improve national response coordination to incidents affecting critical infrastructure, the companies said. The agreement focuses on sharing […]
