Land prices rise 70%

The price of land has gone up by 60-70% over the last few months, due to the high level of demand on the market based on the high profitability of investing in land, a report by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows. CBRE says the rise in prices will stabilise over the next few years, however, with average growth in prices settling at a yearly 15-20%. Most of the supply of urban land comes in the form of small individual properties of up to 2,000 square metres and parts of property, ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 square metres, from former industrial companies. The price of land within cities is extremely high, at 700 to 1,500 euros per square metre, which is causing industrial and residential developers to look to areas outside Bucharest, where buying prices are more affordable. Prices in these areas range from 30 to 50 euros per square metre. At the same time, less developed parts, such as the eastern and southeastern areas of the country, are also being targeted by investors looking to take advantage of the lower prices. Investors are mainly looking for city land of between 1,500 and 3,000 square metres for office and residential developments, while some are looking outside Bucharest for larger plots of up to 30,000-40,000 square metres to be used for industrial projects. According to CBRE, land prices vary by size, distance to utilities and location. ZF