The average price of land in the area surrounding Bucharest was of 353.4 RON/square metre in March, similar to that recorded in March 2008, but sellers now put up smaller areas.
Expressed in euros, the average price of land in Ilfov county fell to 82.6 euros per square metre in March this year, 13.2% less than in March last year, according to a study conducted by Visionwise Consulting, a member of the Deadalus group.
"The general trend appears to indicate a decline in the price in euros along with the reduction in the area put up for sale, which, although the price in RON is the same as in March 2008, points to a loss in the value of land. The reduction tends to be more significant for unincorporated areas and for extensive plots, but there are also differences between areas and small towns, which are probably generated by the investment projects or by the infrastructure in the area," Carmen Patrascu, chief executive of Visionwise Consulting, told ZF.
The study, which was based on almost 14,000 online offers published on the three main land advertisement websites in terms of traffic, reveals that the biggest price cuts are recorded for unincorporated areas. The average price per square metre went down by almost 15% in euros and by 2.2% in RON amid a reduction in the number of offers and of the average area put up for sale. Whilst last year offers for unincorporated areas accounted for almost 23% of the total, this year the percentage went down to 13%. Additionally, the average area put up for sale went down to 0.9 hectares, from 1.3 hectares in 2008.
As for plots in incorporated areas, they sell on average for 98.4 euros/square metre, 10.4% less than in March 2008, whilst in RON prices went up by 3.1% against March last year. As for the area put up for sale, almost 43% of offers in March 2009 are for less than 1,000 square-metre plots, wherea
