Emerald will not cut prices despite falling sales

Located on the banks of Bucharest’s Tei Lake, Emerald complex is one of the first housing projects to deliver over 200 apartments onto the market.
The representatives of Brooklyn Investment, the developer of Emerald Residences, say apartments sales have dropped by 50% since the start of the year compared with 2007, when around 12 apartments were bought each month.
Brooklyn Investment has finalised the 279-apartment project, but around 30 apartments have yet to be sold.
“People are waiting, hoping prices will fall, but we won’t cut prices. We are not pressed to sell because the project’s investments have already been recouped, even though construction costs surged by 20% above initial estimates,” states Monica Manole, the project’s general manager.
Around 2,500 homes were delivered onto Bucharest’s housing market last year, according to the National Statistics Institute much below market demand. Still, in the first half of this year the number of deals dropped, particularly hurting the market of old apartments, where the first price decreases were posted.
Brooklyn Investment is a subsidiary of Turkey’s Summa group, which also operates domestically through the constructions firm that built, among others projects, Plaza Romania shopping centre, Millennium Business Center and is also the general contractor behind Emerald.
Emerald Residences was developed in the wake of investments that neared 50m euros, in the context where costs were initially estimated at 40m euros.
Meanwhile, prices also changed, so that in less than two years from a level of 1,300-1,600 euros/ square metre built plus VAT, companies are asking 1,600 to 2,300 euros now.