In the first quarter of 2025, the real estate market in Chisinau saw unprecedented price growth, while the sector is in crisis and prices will continue to rise - Veaceslav Ionita
According to an analysis by the economic expert, real estate prices in Chisinau rose by 20.6% in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, reaching €1,906 per square meter. This is the largest quarterly increase in Moldova's history, surpassing the previous record set in the first quarter of 2008 (+14.5%). Annual growth reached 35.4%, far exceeding all figures for the last decade. The expert explains this price increase by a 50% decrease in the volume of housing commissioned over the last three years (2022-2024) – 0.8 million square meters compared to the previous three-year period (2019-2021) – 1.7 million square meters. The rise in construction prices, which increased by 50% over three years, has also contributed to the price increase, making a return to affordable prices impossible. Other factors include internal migration, with around 10,000 people moving to Chisinau from rural areas each year, and foreign immigration, with more than 4,000 foreign citizens settled in Moldova, most of them in the capital, so the estimated demand for housing was approximately 5,000 apartments per year. At the same time, the expert believes that the real estate market is blocked and in crisis: with a norm of 8,500–9,000 transactions per quarter, in January–March the number of transactions did not even reach 5,000. At the same time, the supply shortage is affecting both the primary and secondary markets. Prices for apartments on the secondary market also rose by €190 per square meter in just one quarter, reaching €1,324 per square meter, although they remain about 30% lower than in new buildings. Veaceslav Ionita warns of market instability: consumers can no longer afford housing, construction companies are constrained by high costs and bureaucracy, and the state has no consistent strategy to stimulate supply. "If we do not intervene quickly, the housing crisis risks turning into a social crisis affecting entire generations. Without a national affordable housing strategy, without incentives for construction, and without administrative reforms, the current price explosion will not be the last," says Veaceslav Ionita, stressing that the deep crisis in the real estate market is only just beginning. //29.05.2025 – InfoMarket.
