More problematic real estate projects than meet the eye

The volume of loans granted by local banks for construction is
5.2 billion euros, down 9% against September 2009. So far only ten
problematic projects have surfaced, but consultants say big
projects are still “kept under wraps”, in the hope that the current
crisis will not go on endlessly.
The “ruins” of the once booming real estate market are visible
all across Bucharest. For instance, in the Mihai Eminescu street
area in central Bucharest, less than 100 metres apart from each
other are two projects that were supposed to comprise a few dozen
luxury apartments: one is completely frozen (after the underground
level and the ground floor were built), whereas the structure was
built for the second one, but construction works have been slow to
non-existent over the last few months.
The first belongs to Avrig 35, while the second one was built
by Spadavel SRL, controlled by Tiralel Inversiones, registered in
Spain, with Spadavel having a nine million-euro loan contract with
Banca Romaneasca to build seven-floor Edevis.
According to data on the real estate market, there are
currently around 10,000 unoccupied homes in Bucharest, some of them
unsold, while others are in the portfolio of speculative
investors.