The most expensive cities to live in were Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca as of April 2023. On average renting a studio apartment cost 300 euros per month in both cities. It was followed by Brașov, Iași and Constanța, with Timișoara being the most affordable city to live in from the given list - 220 euros for a one-room apartment.

Bucharest was Romania's most expensive city to live in as of October 2024. The capital is divided into six sectors, of which Sector 1 (Dorobanți, Băneasa, Pipera, Floreasca) was by far the most expensive, with an average rent of 690 euros for a two-room apartment. Sector 2,4 and 5 had the most affordable studio apartments in the city, while Sector 6 (Giulești, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Crângași) had the cheapest rent on average for three-room apartments. The average rent price in Bucharest rose by 14 percent compared to the previous year.

Romania's industrial and logistics real estate market showed robust growth in 2023, with average rents reaching *** euros per square meter. This figure reflects the increasing demand for industrial space across the country, particularly in major cities like Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. The capital city, Bucharest, commanded the highest rent at *** euros per square meter, underscoring its position as the primary hub for industrial and logistics operations in Romania. Expanding industrial landscape The industrial sector in Romania has been experiencing significant expansion. By 2024, the country's modern industrial stock reached *** million square m, with ******* square m of new leasable space added, which represents a ** percent increase compared to 2023. Bucharest continued to dominate the market, accounting for ** percent of the new industrial supply. The growth trend is expected to continue, with an additional ******* square m projected to be completed by the end of 2024. Regional centers attractive to investors While Bucharest remains the focal point of industrial and logistics activities, other regions are also seeing development. The Western and North-Western regions collectively held about **** percent of the total stock. Cities like Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, and Brașov are attracting investments, with rental rates slightly lower than the capital. In terms of available space, over ******* square m were ready for rent in 2023, with Bucharest holding nearly ** percent of this stock. Timișoara followed as the second most available market with ****** square m, indicating growing interest in regional industrial hubs.

As of October 2024, Cluj-Napoca had the highest rent for two-room apartments, on average, renting one costed 600 euros per month, six euros more than in Bucharest. Arad was the most affordable city to live in on the given list — 350 euros per month, even reaching an average of 330 euros in October 2023.

Housing Index in Romania increased to 158.36 points in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 155.86 points in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Romania House Price Index - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The price per square meter for rents in Bucharest, Romania, peaked in 2008 at 12,4 euros. Since 2017 the price per square meter variated between seven and eight euros.

Overall, prices for three room apartments in Bucharest have been increasing since 2019. The most expensive apartments were located in Unirii, Aviatiei, and 1 Mai, where an apartment purchase was over 130 thousand euros. At the same time, the average price for a three room apartment in Bucharest increased to 101.05 thousand euros by August 2021.

The prime rent for office real estate in Bucharest, Romania, has increased overall from 2013 to 2019. It can be seen that between years 2013 to 2017, the prime rent remained constant at a value of 216 euros per square meter per year. As of the end of 2018, the average prime rent for office space in Bucharest saw an annual increase of six euros per square meter, in 2019 the value increased by a further 6 euros to reach 228 euros per square meter per year.

One of the main factors driving high rents across European cities is the same as any other consumer-driven business. If demand outweighs supply, prices will inflate. The drive for high paid professionals to be located centrally in prime locations, mixed with the low levels of available space, high land, and construction costs, all keep rental prices increasing. Renting in European cities In 2025, Munich was the most expensive city to rent a furnished studio among the 23 cities surveyed. At ***** euros per month, renting a studio in Munich cost nearly twice the price of a studio in Athens. For one-bedroom apartments or a furnished private room, the most expensive city was Amsterdam. Homeownership in Europe In many European countries owning your home is more commonplace than renting – for instance, in Romania, the homeownership rate is over ** percent. In the UK, affordability of housing is one of the leading housing concerns, with the majority of adults agreeing that first-time buyers getting on a property ladder is a very or somewhat serious problem.

This statistic presents a ranking of prime retail street locations in Bucharest. Of the locations in Bucharest, Baneasa Shopping City has the highest rental rate at 75 euros per square meter per month, followed by AFI Palace Cotroceni with 65 euros per square meter per month.

In the presented European countries, the homeownership rate extended from 42 percent in Switzerland to as much as 96 percent in Albania. Countries with more mature rental markets, such as France, Germany, the UK and Switzerland, tended to have a lower homeownership rate compared to the frontier countries, such as Lithuania or Slovakia. The share of house owners among the population of all 27 European countries has remained relatively stable over the past few years. Average cost of housing Countries with lower homeownership rates tend to have higher house prices. In 2023, the average transaction price for a house was notably higher in Western and Northern Europe than in Eastern and Southern Europe. In Austria - one of the most expensive European countries to buy a new dwelling in - the average price was three times higher than in Greece. Looking at house price growth, however, the most expensive markets recorded slower house price growth compared to the mid-priced markets. Housing supply With population numbers rising across Europe, the need for affordable housing continues. In 2023, European countries completed between one and six housing units per 1,000 citizens, with Ireland, Poland, and Denmark responsible heading the ranking. One of the major challenges for supplying the market with more affordable homes is the rising construction costs. In 2021 and 2022, housing construction costs escalated dramatically due to soaring inflation, which has had a significant effect on new supply.

The house price to income index in Europe declined in almost all European countries in 2023, indicating that income grew faster than house prices. Portugal, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands led the house price to income index ranking in 2023, with values exceeding *** index points. Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland were on the other side of the spectrum, with less than 100 index points. The house price to income ratio is an indicator for the development of housing affordability across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. A ratio higher than 100 means that the nominal house price growth since 2015 has outpaced the nominal disposable income growth, and housing is therefore comparatively less affordable. In 2023, the OECD average stood at ***** index points.