More than 636,000 homes were completed in Romania between 2016 and 2025, equivalent to nearly 33 new homes per 1,000 inhabitants, a construction rate comparable to Germany's and higher than those recorded in the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, according to an analysis by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

Measured by the number of homes completed relative to population, Romania ranks close to Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, while outperforming several other European housing markets, including Hungary, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

'Romania completed 32.9 homes per 1,000 inhabitants during the period analysed, compared with 33.6 in Germany, 34.4 in Slovakia and 31.5 in the Czech Republic. Residential development was significantly more intensive in Poland, where 55.2 homes were delivered per 1,000 inhabitants, France (52.8), Finland (62.8) and the Netherlands (39). At the other end of the scale, the figure stood at 26.2 homes per 1,000 inhabitants in Bulgaria, 23.9 in the United Kingdom, 18.2 in Hungary, 16.4 in Spain and 15.7 in Portugal,' the analysis by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox shows.

In absolute terms, 636,310 homes were completed in Romania between 2016 and 2025, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Annual completions rose from 52,200 units in 2016 to a peak of 73,300 in 2022, before entering a downward trend, with 71,000 homes completed in 2023, 61,000 in 2024 and 59,000 in 2025.

As a result, the number of homes completed in 2025 was approximately 19.5% below the 2022 peak, although still 13% higher than in 2016, according to the analysis.

The differences become even more pronounced when examining Romania's major cities, defined as those with populations exceeding 100,000, the property analysts said.

Bucharest remains by far the country's largest residential market in terms of volume, with 93,850 homes completed between 2016 and 2025, compared with 25,200 in Cluj-Napoca and 22,300 in Brasov.

However, adjusting the figures for population significantly changes the rankings.

Brasov leads the major cities analysed, with 94 homes completed per 1,000 inhabitants over the past decade, followed by Cluj-Napoca with 88. Sibiu recorded 61.8 homes per 1,000 inhabitants, Oradea 58.1 and Bucharest 52.5, while Timisoara was close behind the capital with 50.1.

Further down the rankings were Constanta, with 43.2 homes per 1,000 inhabitants, Iasi with 38.8, Targu Mures with 36.1 and Craiova with 32.2.
At the other end of the scale, Ploiesti recorded just 8.1 completed homes per 1,000 inhabitants, Braila 10.2, Baia Mare 11 and Buzau 11.5.

'The data thus highlight a highly polarised residential market, in which the size of a city does not automatically translate into a proportionately higher rate of development,' the analysis states.

Recent figures also show that Romania has moved beyond the peak of its residential construction cycle recorded earlier this decade. Following the 2022 high of 73,300 completed homes, nationwide deliveries fell by 3.2% in 2023, a further 14.1% in 2024 and another 3.1% in 2025.

The downward trend is also evident in the country's main regional housing markets.

In Bucharest, 9,361 homes were completed in 2025, approximately 32% fewer than the peak of 13,834 units reached in 2023. Nevertheless, the 2025 figure remained almost 144% above the 3,838 homes completed in 2016.

The decline from the highs of the past decade was even more pronounced in several regional centres. Cluj-Napoca recorded 957 completed homes in 2025, compared with a peak of 4,175 in 2019, while Brasov delivered 1,283 units, down from 3,098 in 2020. Timisoara recorded 793 completed homes in 2025, compared with 1,787 in 2021, while Iasi registered 780, against 1,908 in 2019.

'Romania continues to have strong residential development hubs, and developments over the past decade confirm the attractiveness of major urban centres and their capacity to support new projects. Although the pace of completions has slowed in recent years, demand and economic development may continue to create opportunities in the residential market. At the same time, differences between cities are becoming increasingly apparent, both in terms of the volume of homes built and the intensity of development relative to population,' Vlad Saftoiu, Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, said in a press release.

'We are therefore entering a stage in which location, accessibility, infrastructure and tailoring properties to the profile and purchasing power of potential buyers will play an increasingly important role. We believe that well-located projects, developed in markets with sound economic fundamentals and properly aligned with buyers' needs, will continue to have good prospects, even as developers become more cautious,' he added.

Cushman & Wakefield is a global commercial real estate services company serving tenants and investors, with approximately 53,000 employees across more than 350 offices in nearly 60 countries. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)

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