The prices of old flats in districts like Drumul Taberei and Militari in Bucharest have fallen by 10-15% since the beginning of the year, despite the fact that owners keep asking for the same prices, real estate market brokers say.

The representatives of the magazinuldecase. ro website, which is currently listing almost 3,000 homes, say the decline is the outcome of a shrinking solvent demand for homes in Bucharest, while the supply of both new homes and old homes is rising, considering some of the speculative investors put their flats up for sale at the beginning of this year.

"This used to be a sellers' market until recently, where prices would not be negotiated because no ad would stay up for more than two or three days without the home being sold. As a number of investors feel a degree of panic, we may now be talking about oversupply, considering the decline in the number of solvent buyers and the increase in the supply of homes," stated Matei Malos, the general manager of the company that owns the website. The supply of old flats increased by almost 50% in the first quarter of this year, after the number of homes put up for sale totalled almost 15,000.

However, the average asking price for old flats in Bucharest remains at 134,000 euros, the same as at the beginning of the year.

The price decline mostly affects the districts on the outskirts of the city, whereas prices in the central and prime central locations remain unchanged, given the constant supply.

"Those under pressure to sell generally agree to cut the price by 10 or 15% even in central areas, while those who are in no rush continue to ask for the same price. Last year was a very good year, but early this year we noticed a 20-30% decline in the number of deals," states Daniel Raeceanu, the general manager of real estate agency Rasig Group, which employs 36 real estate br