Finding buyers for multi-million euro real estate proves difficult

At least 8 real estate properties in Bucharest and throughout the country have been on the market for several months now, whilst current market conditions mean that it is difficult to find buyers, given that the asking prices are the same as before the start of the international financial crisis. The land on which the Timpuri Noi and Titan Mar plants in Bucharest are located, the shopping centres developed by Belgian-based BelRom in Bacau and Braila, the land and the assets of the Rulmentul plant in Brasov, the Armonia project developed by RED in Braila, the Baneasa Business Center office building and the land of the Textila plant in Iasi are just some of the real estate assets that have been on the market for several months, with no deal closed so far. “The state of the real estate market is rather difficult at present, with some of the owners of these assets asking last year’s prices, whilst financial circumstances and interest rates are not the same anymore,” says Bogdan Georgescu, managing partner with real estate consultancy Colliers International. However, according to Georgescu, for one or two of these properties, negotiations are in an advanced stage, so we could see new major deals in the coming period. BelRom puts the projects in Bacau and Braila at 80-90 million euros each, after the company collected over 170 million euros from the sale of the retail parks in Sibiu and Targu-Mures, while the Titan Mar and Timpuri Noi plants are estimated at around 100 million euros each.