Romanians with average incomes increasingly unable to afford homes, study shows
<p>Home prices continue to rise rapidly in most major cities across Europe and globally, including Romania. Bucharest and other large cities are nearing the critical threshold of inaccessibility for residents with average incomes, according to an analysis by the Social Monitor, a project of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Romania, based on data from Numbeo and Eurostat.</p>
<p>In the EU as a whole, housing prices increased by over 50% between 2015 and 2025.</p>
<p>Romania's market has seen an even greater increase during this period - 61% - although it remains below the EU average in terms of price per square meter. Nevertheless, high prices compared to wages mean apartments are increasingly unaffordable.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In Bucharest, a resident earning the average salary can purchase one square meter of residential space in the city center with the equivalent of 2.7 monthly salaries, and one outside the center with 1.5 average monthly salaries. In Cluj-Napoca, the situation is even more difficult, as one square meter in the center costs the equivalent of three monthly average salaries, and outside the center, 2.2 salaries.</p>
<p>For comparison, the cost/salary indicator for one square meter in other European cities shows that in Berlin, Amsterdam, or Sofia, a square meter costs approximately 2.4 monthly salaries, while in Madrid, the cost of a residential square meter in the center is equivalent to 3.2 monthly salaries, almost the same as in Cluj-Napoca.</p>
<p>Although the price-to-income ratio appears similar between major Romanian cities and the rest of Europe, there is a major difference not reflected in these figures: the burden of daily living costs in Romania is much higher relative to income, even compared to other Eastern or Southern European countries such as Greece or Bulgaria.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Romanians spend approximately 31.3% of their income just on food and clothing, compared to under 20% in Western Europe and about 24% in Bulgaria. As a result, saving for an apartment or paying off a loan puts a lot of strain on the budgets of Romanians. This difference makes homeownership significantly more difficult for Romanian residents.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><a href="mailto:radu@romania-insider.com">radu@romania-insider.com</a></em></p>
<p><em>(Photo source: Vlad Ispas | <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/">Dreamstime.com</a>)</em></p>