Outside the capital, the five strongest residential markets (Timisoara, Iasi, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca and Constanta) account for only 63% of the total number of transactions in Bucharest. Bucharest’s residential market remains the strongest in Romania, with 3,388 individual housing units transacted in May 2025.
In the other five major cities in the country, which recorded the most sales in the same month, a total of 2,145 housing units were transacted, according to an analysis by Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member an alliance of the BNP Paribas Real Estate. It is important to note that transactions registered in the land register generally reflect sales negotiated in previous months.
At the top of the list of cities outside the Capital is Timisoara, followed by Iasi in second place and Brasov in third place, according to the first city report conducted by the National Agency for Cadaster and Real Estate Publicity (ANCPI). Timiș also leads the ranking of counties by a wide margin, followed by Cluj in second place and Constanța in third.
“Right now, Bucharest and Timisoara are among the most dynamic residential markets in Romania. They benefit from still competitive average prices, lower compared to cities like Cluj-Napoca and Brasov. “The capital has the advantage of high purchasing power, the highest in the country, as well as increased interest from investors, with over 15,000 new homes under development,” says Costin Nistor, Managing Director at Fortim Trusted Advisors, a member an alliance of the BNP Paribas Real Estate.
In Timiș County, the majority of purchases are made through mortgage loans. According to data provided by ANCPI and analyzed by Fortim Trusted Advisors, residents of Timiș have acquired around 75% of homes through mortgage loans. In May 2025, only 25% of real estate transactions in Timiș County were paid for entirely in cash.
Second place in the ranking of counties with the highest proportion of loan-financed purchases goes to Brasov, with 71%, closely followed by Cluj County in third place. Conversely, Iasi County has the highest proportion of cash-only transactions, with 44% of home purchases being made without bank financing.
In Bucharest, the share of cash buyers has dropped to 39%, a decline from previous years. The trend shows a decline in the number of small investors buying apartments with cash. Historically, in 2022, over 50% of transactions were made without bank financing.
About FORTIM Trusted Advisors, member an alliance of BNP Paribas Real Estate
FORTIM Trusted Advisors, member an alliance of the BNP Paribas Real Estatein Romania, is a real estate consulting company founded in 2002, managed by Costin Nistor, Bogdan Cange and Nicolae Ciobanu since December 2020. The company offers real estate consulting services in the office segment, retail, industrial & logistics, valuations, capital markets, research, but also Property Management and Project Management services. In the area of Property Management, the company manages over 100,000 square meters of office, retail, and industrial space. Among the most important recurring clients of FORTIM Trusted Advisors are Morgan Stanley, Add Value Management, Indotek, Kesz and First Property Asset Management. Also, in the office segment, the company handled the trading of spaces for Reckit Benkiser, Renault, Fortech, Grohe, Credius, OLX Group, Multinode Network, AHI Carrier, AVL, UMT Software, Future Electronics, The Home or Bioderma.
