16% increase in Domestic tourism on the Romanian Black sea coast

May 2nd 2008

The Romanian Government published today a report saying that it expects in increase of at least 16% in the number of Romanians who will visit the resorts on the Romanian Black Sea coast this year. The total number can go as high as 10% of Romanian population, namely 2 million people, almost double than in 2007. It mentions that the quality of services has started to improve and there were many investments in the infrastructure and the services being offered in 2008. Romania is keen to reposition its tourist destination on the Black Sea coast and to recover the gap it lost in the last years. As far as 15-20 years ago more than 5-7 million Romanians used to visit the Romanian seaside in summer. Romania announces also the completion of the Bucharest-seaside motorway set for 2009 which will be a major traffic destination for country's visitors on the Romanian Black Sea coast.

Source Finanacial Daily

Ford Closes Deal in Romania

April 10th 2008

Ford last month officially took control of Automobile Craiova, the former Daewoo operation here, for a token payment of $80 million and a promise to invest more than $1 billion. Ford executives said the factory will assemble the Transit Connectin 2009 and a new small car in 2010.

Ford plans to boost the plant's annual production capacity to 300,000 units and double employment to 7,000. In 2006, Daewoo built only 24,000 vehicles there.

John Fleming, president and CEO of Ford of Europe, said the Transit Connect, a compact commercial delivery vehicle, will go into production in Craiova in mid-2009. The vehicle currently is built only in Turkey, but Ford's assembly operation there is at full capacity. Earlier this year, Ford announced plans to begin marketing the Transit Connect in the U.S. in summer 2009.

Source "Financial Daily"

Biggest Mall Opens in Romania Today

April 20th, 2008

Romania's biggest mall opens today in Baneasa, an area in the northern part of the capital, Bucharest, national media reported. The Baneasa Shopping City will contain 221 stores, of which 70 per cent are open to customers today. The cafes and restaurants are expected to begin work after next weekend's Easter holidays the Romanian newspaper Evenimentul Zilei reported. Beside cosmetic and decorative objects, the mall will also have clothing brands that are entirely new to the Romanian market.

A relatively new phenomenon, no shopping malls existed in the Balkans until a few years ago. Just in the last couple of years, however, they have sprung up en masse and largely replaced the street-side stores and the department stores left from the communist era as preferred shopping places. Just in Bucharest, there are already 11 malls, including the Baneasa Shopping City one, and 10 more are to open within the next two years. In Romania altogether, there will be more than 70 malls by 2010.

Baneasa Shopping Mall will also serve the thousands of new middle class who have relocated in new villas built in the new suburbs of Northern Bucharest such as Balotesti, Corbeanca, Snagov.

Romanian property top 10 land deals in 2007

The top ten land deals registered last year in Bucharest amounted to a total €500 million, according to a study by real estate consulting company Atisreal Romania, part of French group BNP Paribas.

Meanwhile, deals with real estate projects totaled €750 mln in 2007, mostly for office buildings.

Raiffeisen Evolution was top land buyer, with a €90 million deal involving 11 hectares of land in northern Bucharest. The plot was purchased from Romania's largest company, Petrom.

Israeli developer AFI Europe purchased 15.5 hectares of the Laromet industrial platform, in north-western Bucharest, for €77.5 mln, in the second-largest deal registered in 2007. Israeli company Rosebud Medical ranks third, with a payment of €72.9 million for 6 hectares in northern Bucharest, while the fourth-largest deal involved mall developer Belrom, which purchased 9 hectares in eastern Bucharest, for €60 mln. The same amount was paid by Austrian company Real4you for 7 hectares, also in the eastern area of the capital.

Investors are mainly targeting small [adjoining] plots to create larger areas, especially in the northern and western areas of Bucharest, where large residential and industrial projects have been built, the study writes.

Last year, the prices of land for residential and office projects in central areas rose some 15-20 percent, according to real estate specialists.

Source Ziarul Financiar (Business Daily) March 2008.

Romanian property drawing attention

Tuesday, 18 Mar 2008 11:06

Property prices in Romania have seen substantial increases in recent months, with local buyers bolstering demand and pushing up prices.

Prices for some new-build developments in Romania, have seen prices rise by 63.5 per cent over the course of a year. The average property price in the eastern European nation increased by 40 per cent during 2007. These increases have been driven by an increase in wages among the domestic population since accession to the European Union on January 1st 2007

The Romanian finance minister recently announced GDP per capita in the country had increased from €2,600 in 2004 to €5,400 in 2007. The latest figures from market analysts Mercer also forecast the trend will continue - with wages in Romania expected to rise by 11.5 per cent in 2008, the highest rise in Europe and fourth in the world. The Romanian government also forecasts a staggering 75 per cent salary increase by 2013.

This trend has allowed a strong property market to develop, with local buyers fuelling demand as opposed to second and holiday home owners. "The Romanian economy continues to grow sustained by increasing inward investment and the demand for modern, quality housing continues to rise, providing excellent returns for those investing in the property market," Romania also has a low unemployment figure, estimated at around 4.3 per cent during 2007, ensuring demand from a wide cross section of the market.

Source www.aboutproperty.co.uk

18th Jan 2008: New European Union entrant Romania and the southern Alps are set to become the next two overseas property investment hotspots. Both regions to see highly competitive growth during 2008.

That is according to research from the Homebuyer and Property Investor Show, which predicts both regions will see highly competitive growth during 2008.

In Romania average property prices have begun to increase dramatically following its accession to the European Union in January 2007 - but still reflect its position as an emerging market.

At present a spacious two-bedroom apartment in a popular tourist resort can be obtained for €100,000 - some 40 per cent lower than some other eastern European destinations.

However, experts predict prices could increase by 15 to 25 per cent over the next twelve months - partially spurred by the arrival of low-cost flights from UK carriers.

"We have seen the huge impact the presence of low-cost airlines has had on other eastern European countries, and Romania is set to follow this trend," said Ben Mason of overseas property agent Someplace Else.

"The country is one of the most beautiful in eastern Europe and offers a wealth of history and culture as well as a diverse landscape, from medieval towns, such as Transylvania, to Black Sea resorts, the Carpathian mountains and the magnificent architecture of Bucharest."

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