Moldova’s real estate market is expected to revive and rise in prices in 2021- IDIS Viitorul.
Veaceslav Ionita, an expert on economic policy at the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives, notes an increase in the number of transactions in the real estate market. In 2020, a sales record was registered - 30 thousand objects, which is almost twice the average annual indicator in the republic over the past 15 years. At the same time, the market is concentrated in Chisinau - more than 80% of housing is sold in Chisinau, as rural residents are increasingly selling their houses in order to move to the capital. The economist believes that in 2020, the real estate market in the country, with the exception of Chisinau municipality, recorded a decline of 12%. However, a slight revival is expected in 2021, and not only in the capital, but, most likely, people will prefer purchasing small area apartments in the secondary market. Ionita also notes an increase in the number of transactions with individual residential buildings and forecasts an upward tendency in this trend. So, in the first quarter of 2021, 7.6 thousand real estate transactions were carried out, including transactions with 440 houses. The expert says that mortgage loans for the purchase of an apartment have become a real hit of loans, and this explains the massive growth of real estate transactions. The portfolio of bank loans for real estate is 8.3 billion lei, and every fifth lei issued in the form of a loan was given for the purchase of real estate. “Mortgages have become a solution since 2018. Banks have had and currently have a surplus of liquidity, and they have nothing more to finance. It turned out that individuals may be the best clients of banks. The mortgage interest rate has dropped below 10% because if it is higher it is risky to have long-term loans. The interest rate is below 10% and relatively competitive salaries have led to the fact that Moldovan citizens can afford thinking of an apartment or a house,” the expert said, noting that the volume of mortgage loans could exceed 10 billion lei. At the same time, the economist noted that the average annual salary in Moldova is approaching 5 thousand euros, which is twice as much as 5 years ago. Average wages are increasing, while the euro remains stable. “If an apartment costs a little more than 36 thousand euros, citizens have to allocate about 7.5 annual salaries to buy an apartment, while 15 years ago it took almost 40 annual salaries to buy an apartment,” Ionita notes. At the same time, the expert speaks of an increase in the number of families who rent housing (up to 13%) and believes that it is necessary to create a favorable investment climate for citizens to invest in the purchase of housing for subsequent renting, since in the coming years the demand for such housing will at least double. // 26.04.2021 - InfoMarket
