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.
Romanians are preparing to spend more this Christmas compared with last year, according to a new Raiffeisen Bank study conducted in partnership with research platform Appinio. The survey showed that 65% of respondents expect higher holiday expenses in 2025, while 26% anticipate spending similar amounts to 2024. Half of those surveyed allocate between 25% and […]
Romania’s Electric Castle was named ‘International Festival of the Year’ at the 20th edition of the UK Festival Awards. The Romanian event triumphed over major international contenders, including Afro Nation (Portugal), Beyond The Valley (Australia), Open’er Festival (Poland), Sziget Festival (Hungary), and Way Out West (Sweden),
President Nicuşor Dan, on December 4, returned to Parliament amendments tightening Romania’s law against extremism, arguing that several provisions are vague and risk enabling abuses, according to a statement released by the Presidency. The Constitutional Court had previously upheld the amendments after the Presidency challenged them, prompting criticism from organisations within the Jewish community. By […]
Fitch Ratings on December 4 affirmed the long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) for Romania's largest lender, Banca Transilvania (BVB: TlV), at BBB- with a negative outlook, in line with the country's sovereign rating. The price of the bank's shares rose 1.2% on the day the rating agency announced its decision, bringing the bank's market capitalisation […]
The Romanian authorities will only supervise the operations at Lukoil’s Petrotel refinery and not be involved in its management until a new owner is found, according to an emergency ordinance approved by the government in Bucharest this week, as reported by Hotnews.ro. Russian group Lukoil is seeking buyers for its...
The ‘5 to go’ coffee shop chain announced the signing of a partnership with the national gas station network RO concept OSCAR, owned by businessman Alin Niculae, according to Economica.net. The gas station network has reached 120 strategically distributed stations nationwide, of which more than 90 are franchised under the RO concept...
