More than half (55%) of Bucharest residents currently living on rent do not plan to buy an apartment next year and want to continue renting, according to a recent study conducted by Unlock Research for Colliers International, leader in the Romanian residential evaluation and consultancy market with nationwide analyzed residential properties worth over 15 billion euros in the last three years alone. However, 45% of them consider changing their rented housing, the majority (66%) because they want a more spacious or better positioned apartment, including new buildings, and only a third because they want to lower their rental costs.
“The residential tenant is much more dynamic than the buyer, and the trends in the rental market can be valuable for housing developers. The need for security in the relationship with the landlord will lead to the professionalization of the housing rental market, and more and more developers will turn their attention to this segment. We have already seen transactions with apartment buildings intended exclusively for rent, a sign that there is interest among investors for such products. We expect to see other players in this newly created ecosystem announcing rental projects", explains Gabriel Blăniță, associate director of Colliers Valuation and Advisory.
“The pandemic generated strong changes in people's relationship with their living space, as its importance has significantly grown during the lockdown and the trend has maintained since. It has become increasingly important what the space looks like, both in terms of the living space itself and also its surroundings, as well as what facilities are available nearby. For the rental market, beyond the need for security and not making decisions that require high investments, the need for an upgrade, for a better standard of living has also increased, as tenants are not satisfied with the current market conditions", says Alexandra Cojocaru, Unlock Research partner.