Romanians resignedly leave foreclosed properties

Apartments and houses foreclosed by domestic banks are most of the times in a normal state, according to banking bailiffs, although on other markets owners had the habit of devastating this type of homes before handing them over to banks, real estate consultants say.

According to the information on banks’ websites, at least 1,500 foreclosed homes are up for sale now, but real estate players say the number will rise considerably in the coming months, as some banks want to postpone provisions to be able to end the financial year with acceptable results.

“I believe that should banks put up for sale all the foreclosed properties next year, prices will drop by a further 20% at least (…),” says Mihaela Irina Alexandroiu, owner of Re/Max Bastion.

Consultants say the market has lived on rentals in the past year, as there have been few buy-sell deals. Still, there has been rising interest in houses and plots of land located at the outskirts of Bucharest lately.