The Moldovan housing market is experiencing a historic decline: the ar-ea of new housing commissioned has fallen to a 70-year low - Veaceslav Ioniță
This was stated by economic policy expert at IDIS Viitorul during his weekly analytical program. According to the expert, after a record 899,000 square meters of housing commissioned in 2021, the sector has been declining steadily. In 2025, only 333,000 square meters were commissioned in the country, and in the first quarter of 2026, only 17,000 square meters. In annual terms, this corresponds to 237,000 square meters, the lowest figure in Moldova's modern history. The situation is most acute in Chisinau, where approximately 70% of the country's housing construction is concentrated. While 203,000 square meters of housing were commissioned in the capital in 2025, then in January-March 2026 – only 5 thousand sq. m. According to Veaceslav Ioniță, converted to an annual figure, this means a drop to 117 thousand sq. m, which is also a historical minimum. The expert cites a reduction in the number of construction permits, a slowdown in the construction sector, and problems with commissioning projects as the reasons for the crisis. Despite the continuation of purchase and sale transactions on the market, it is the volume of new housing that is rapidly declining. The decline is especially noticeable in the apartment segment. If in the 1980s, about 8 thousand apartments were commissioned annually, and in 2021 – approximately 6.7 thousand, then in the first quarter of 2026 the annual figure dropped to approximately 1 thousand apartments. Over the past three years, approximately 4.5 thousand apartments have been commissioned – less than in 2023 alone, when approximately 4.9 thousand apartments were completed. An additional sign of structural change was the shift in construction outside the capital. For the first time in a long time, the area of housing commissioned in the regions exceeded that of Chisinau, although over the past 15 years, the capital accounted for approximately 85% of the value of housing construction and 70% of the total area built. Against this backdrop, investment in residential construction in Moldova remains significantly lower than in European countries. In 2025, the residential construction sector in Moldova accounted for only 1.4% of GDP, compared to 3% in Romania and the EU average of 5% of GDP. According to Veaceslav Ioniță, without urgent measures to simplify the authorization and commissioning procedures, the shortage of new housing and the crisis in the sector will intensify. // 12.06.2026 — InfoMarket
