Room for Property Price Growth in Romania

With oversupply in some of the most popular European property hotspots such as Spain and Cyprus, with the US slowdown effect rippling outward and causing concern in many of the major Western property markets and with signs pointing to stagnation in markets closer to home such as across the UK and in Ireland, is there anywhere left to make money from real estate in 2008?

According to Liam Bailey from Knight Frank there is, and as long as you avoid commercial property for the time being, according to us there is too.  You just need to head to Constanta in Romania on a Ryanair flight…

Ryanair are about to open up a route from Constanta on Romania’s Black Sea coast to Pisa, which is an important hub for the airline.  The route will begin on the 18th of April 2008, and then from Pisa with Ryanair you can connect to destinations right across the European mainland, the UK, Ireland and also the islands of Malta and Sardinia for example.  And so suddenly, this tiny untouched corner of Romania is about to be discovered.

But is Constanta worth discovering? 

Well, yes, we think it is.  And as it is in Romania where Liam Bailey recently told the International Herald Tribune that there is still room for property price growth, he probably thinks it is too!

You see Liam Bailey is right – there is a huge amount of room for growth in Romania, well in corners of it anyway.  Unlike in Bulgaria where if you want to make any profit you’ll stay well away from the Black Sea coast, Romania’s Black Sea coast is fairly undiscovered and actually ripe for investment.  It is as stunning as Bulgaria’s was before the mass of high-rise, low quality apartment blocks popped up all along it.  The climate is as beautiful in the summer and as temperate in the winter, and Constanta is a major port and resort on the coast making it a perfect base for exploring all the fantastic beaches, landmarks, museums and natural attractions in the vicinity.

As for current property prices, well they’re not dirt cheap because Constanta is already very popular with Romanians as a holiday hotspot – but then again, prices are not exactly expensive either.  You’ll pay from EUR 48,000 for a one-bedroom apartment for example, and you can buy beach-side villas with five bedrooms, four bathrooms and extensive gardens for about EUR 393,000 currently.

Land is for sale in abundance in the vicinity of the city – which may be of interest to developers who like the thought that the city is to get its own cheap flight access from April…or for those who want to start earning straight away, there are hotels for sale which could of course accommodate European and British holidaymakers from this summer onwards.

The trouble with Romania though is that it hasn’t managed to market itself as well as Bulgaria or even Poland.  It lacks the allure of some of the emerging property markets in the world and this is helping to keep its property prices actually undervalued.  But hopefully now the Ryanair effect will help the nation and the appeal of Constanta in particular will become more widely known.  The beaches that stretch from the town as far as Romania’s borders with Bulgaria are golden, unpolluted, un-crowded, soft and inviting.  They give way to an almost tideless sea in the summer and are likely to become the number one reason why people choose this corner of Romania for a break.

If you’re looking for property in Romania for an investment, a second home abroad or a home from home in the sun and you’re willing to take a risk, be in it at least for the medium term and buy into a still emerging market, give Constanta a closer look – it’ll be even easier to do so from April after all!

Special Reports: Property News for Romania

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Romania Property Investor’s Introductory Guide
The real estate market in Romania is in its infancy but offers property investors stunning property at incredibly affordable prices.