Introduction
Demand for new property in Romania is at an all-time high and stock is very lmiited. In fact, it has been estimated that there is a shortage of around 965,000 homes across the whole country, with the highest deficit being in Bucharest. These conditions alone would send a market spiraling up.
But in addition, Romania joined the EU at the beginning of the year. In doing so, it had to meet very strict economic, political and financial criteria that now pave the way for foreign investment and increasing demand for property.
So the Bucharest market is set to be one of the hottest property markets of 2007 – a fact supported in recent reports by Jones Lang Lasalle and Ernst&Young that listed the city as the top place to invest during the next 5 years. This view is also shared by many companies who have recently relocated to the city - Deutsche Bank, Orange, Vodafone, Toyota and Goldman Sachs to name but a few.
Such companies are improving salaries and employment opportunities and are attracting more inhabitants to the city in search of jobs. With a maturing mortgage market and with interest rates increasingly under control, there is a new emerging middle class who are eager to move out of crumbling, communist-era blocks and into newly affordable, high-quality family accommodation.
Located in a secure and gated community, our villas at Forest View are a perfect mix of price, style and location to attract this growing sector. In fact, a recent survey done by a local university found that 43% of Bucharesti want to move to individual houses.
With an average discount of 34%, under £17,000 deposits and non-status mortgages available straight from the developer, these villas offer an enticing investment opportunity in a fast growing market.
Read on to find out more and as ever, give us a call on 01273 627 900 to speak to one of our property consultants.
Warm regards,
Alise and Jonty Crossick
Bucharest is a thriving and expanding city which has firmly established itself as the capital of the new Romania, post-communism and post- EU accession. It is a mix of historic buildings, modern apartments and communist-era blocks that currently house the city’s population of over 2 million.
The Forest View site is located just 30 minutes south west of central Bucharest along a well-maintained dual carriageway. It is next to the town of Mihailesti - a small locality with excellent amenities including shops, mini-markets, pharmacies, banks, schools (primary and secondary), a hospital, bars, restaurants, a hotel and regular farmers’ markets selling fresh local produce.
A large adjacent plot to the Forest View site is expected to be purchased by the Carrefour hypermarket group. It is currently unclear as to whether this will be a shopping outlet or a warehouse space for the company, but either scenario will produce many jobs and interest in the area.
On the northern edge of Mihailesti there is a large man-made lake that will be host to a harbour linking the area to the Danube and eventually the Mediterranean1.
Infrastructure
The road out of Bucharest heading south west to Mihailesti is a good dual carriageway. Roads in general in Romania are of varying degrees of quality, but the country has secured funding from the EU and the World Bank to embark on a series of improvements.
Bucharest is encircled by a ring road, designed to keep heavy vehicles i.e. industrial and commercial traffic out of the centre of Bucharest. It is currently undergoingimprovements to increase its capacity and speed up journey times. This project is due to be finished at the end of 2008.
Highway IV is another major motorway crossing the whole of Romania which, when completed, will link Bucharest to the Black Sea in the east and to Budapest and onwards to other major cities in Western Europe. Its completion date is projected as 2012. Highway IV will be approximately 25km from Mihailesti.
Flights
Bucharest has two airports: Otopeni Henri Coanda International Airport is 17km
north of Bucharest. Direct flights from the UK are provided by British Airways from Heathrow and by Tarom Airlines, the Romanian national airline. Return fares start from around £200. Budget airline Wizz Air started flights from London Luton to Bucharest Banasea Airport in January 2007 with fares from £100 return.
The smaller air terminal, Baneasa, is 8km north of the city. There are moves afoot to merge the two airports in the longer term, but this has not been officially confirmed. There has been other proposals put forward to relocate one airport to the south of the city, but these plans also
remain unconfirmed.
Public Transport and Car Hire
There is a bus service that runs into the city at regular intervals. Bucharest also has an underground or Metro system.