Although real estate investments in other parts of Romania have recently grown, Bucharest remains the best place to invest when taking into account overall profitability. The main reason for this is simply that there is a huge number of people ready to buy land, houses and apartments. Prices have sky-rocketed in Bucharest in the last 5 years and are still increasing now, but are still below averages of Central – Eastern European capitals (such as Warsaw, Prague, Budapest) with room for more profitable investments, especially if we were to consider the number of young Romanians in need of apartments, the new Bucharest middle-class looking to escape the “communist-blocks” and live in modern apartment-blocks or suburban villas around Bucharest etc.

Here is a list of reasons why Bucharest will still probably remain the top of real estate investments in Romania:

1. The impressive number of young people constantly moving to Bucharest in search of better paid jobs and city lifestyle. Although officially Bucharest has just under 3 million inhabitants, there are some specialists claiming that the real numbers are over 4,5 million. All these people are looking for a place to buy or rent. With the information in mind that Romania has one of the highest numbers of people living in the rural area so this migration to the big cities will continue for years to come;
2. A new middle-class with raising financial possibilities looking to change their old communist-block apartments to new, spacious flats or villas in the suburban areas;
3. The large number of foreign companies and investors in Romania and the expectations of these numbers to rise, especially in the country’s capital. This of course means more available money to be spent on offices, apartments and real estate in general.

Purchasing real estate in Bucharest can be tricky if you are not already experienced in the Romanian market . You will have to consider the following:

1. Land is rarely available anymore in central locations and when it is, it’s sold for outrageous prices;
2. The Northern area is considered the best (although the city is expanding South as well) with Pipera (Voluntari) being the new luxury residential area of Bucharest;
3. Height limitations, built surface limitations etc. can vary quite a bit even in areas located close to one another. This is because the permits from City Hall and other authorities are issued quite chaotically;
4. The residential areas are continuously expanding further away from Bucharest. For example locations some 20 or 30 km. away have started to be more and more attractive for investors, especially is someone has already made some serious investments in the area. An example could be Mihailesti, about 30 km away from Bucharest, where foreign investors have already started an important residential project;
5. Old buildings located in the Bucharest City Center sometimes have uncertain legal status and may require a due diligence procedure beforehand.