First Home pushes down prices for 3-room housing

Since everybody puts hopes in the Government's "First Home" programme, it seems that the owners of old housing also agree to this idea. As a result, they adjusts the prices of the housing they hold, so that, following negotiations, their apartments can be included in the conditions imposed by the new program, namely the maximum price limit of 60,000 euros.

In all the big towns, real estate analysts have found an alignment of prices for flats. "Despite some signs of recovery of the market in May, the trend of decline is evident in the second quarter too, in all the big cities in the country. After months of waiting without concrete results, very many owners now put their hopes in the Government's "First Home" programme and set the prices so that, following negotiations, their apartments can qualify. We should not be surprised by the fact that, in all big cities in the country, including Bucharest, the market offers three-room flats even for 60,000 euros, a hard to imagine thing a year ago ", says Adrian Erimescu, General manager, imobiliare.ro.

According to an survey of the imobiliare.ro website on the dynamics of the out-cry prices in three-room flats in the second quarter of 2009, in the most dynamic cities in Romania, the "First Home" programme directly affects prices, accelerating the overall trend of decline. Despite the first signs of stability in May, prices fell in all big cities of the country, in the last month of the interval under review.

According to this survey, the out-cry prices demanded by Bucharest sellers for a three-room flat in the blocks built before the Revolution dropped dramatically in the second quarter of the year, falling from the average of 1,549 euros / sqm, registered in early April, to 1,225 euro / sqm at end-June. Thus, the average price requested for a 71 sqm three-room flat in Bucharest is 87,000 euros. On the backdrop of lack of demand, the purchase price dropped considerably below this value. In districts as Titan, Berceni, Brancoveanu or Drumul Taberei there are offers for three-room flats that qualify even for the "First Home" programme.

Curierul National