New apartments in Bucharest cost 24% more than they did a year ago. Transaction volumes, meanwhile, fell roughly 8.5% year-on-year in Bucharest–Ilfov. Both figures are true — and the tension between them is exactly what foreign investors should understand before drawing conclusions about this market.

What the data shows is a supply-constrained market, not a speculative bubble. Fewer transactions at higher prices is not a warning sign; it is what happens when new completions remain structurally limited. Analysts estimate only around 6,700 homes are currently under development across the entire Bucharest–Ilfov region for 2026 and 2027 delivery combined. For a capital city of nearly 2 million people, that is a thin pipeline.

The average price for a new apartment in Bucharest sits at approximately €2,380 per sqm in 2026. Central and high-demand micro-locations run substantially above that. Gross rental yields for residential assets in Bucharest stood at 7.52% in January 2026 — comfortably above most Western European benchmarks.

The medium-term outlook reinforces the entry argument. Independent forecasters estimate cumulative nominal price growth of 25–40% to 2031. Whether the actual figure lands at the lower or upper end depends largely on how quickly new supply catches up with demand — and in Bucharest, the regulatory and planning process means that catch-up is slow by design.

The investors I work with who are watching from outside Romania are often waiting for a “normalisation” that the supply side will not deliver. The better question is not whether to enter, but where and what.

If you are evaluating Bucharest as an entry market, I am happy to share what I have observed firsthand. You can also find more context at mihaelaoroian.com.