Buyers who don't know the market can overpay 15% to 25% on signing day. On a €150,000 villa, that is €22,000 to €37,000.
Imobiliare.ro, Storia and OLX show asking prices, not transaction prices. Deduct 5% to 10% to get closer to the real price.
Same area, same property type, similar condition, sold within the last 12 months. A lawyer or licensed valuer can get the data.
A licensed valuer, your own lawyer and a fixed-fee adviser cost €500 to €1,500 combined, against tens of thousands at stake.
Pressure to close fast, resistance to an independent valuation, no comparables, pricing by 'story', and no price per m².
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Ranges as of early 2026, for orientation only. Not a substitute for a valuation.
What would a foreign premium cost you?
Illustration only. Assumes the price already includes the premium, so its share of the price is p/(1+p).
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An investor who does not know the market can end up paying 15%–25% too much on the very day of signing. In Romania, those who know less pay more. Here is how to check for a fair price before you go from being a customer to being an investor. A practical guide to verifying the fair price of a property in Romania – price per square metre in the area, comparable transactions, and the safeguards a savvy Israeli investor insists on before signing.
Summary
The gap between a fair price and a "tourist" price in the Romanian property market can reach 15%–25% of the transaction value. For an investor buying a villa for €150,000, that means €22,000–€37,000 going up in smoke on the day of signing, before the investment has even begun. In this article you will get the precise tools to check that you are paying a real price – and not a price set for "an Israeli who doesn't know the market".
Let us start with an uncomfortable truth – the foreign buyer premium: the phenomenon nobody wants to talk about. In every property market in the world – genuinely, every market – there is a phenomenon known as the "Foreign Buyer Premium". The local seller recognises that the person in front of him is a foreign investor who does not know the area, does not speak the language and has no idea what the neighbour paid six months ago – and raises the price by 10%, 15%, sometimes 25%.
It is not a conspiracy. It is not fraud. It is basic information economics: those who know less, pay more.
In Romania, this phenomenon is particularly strong for Israeli investors. Why? Because the Israeli investor usually arrives after one or two calls back home, views the property on a 48-hour visit, and feels pressure to close before flying back. The Romanian seller knows how to recognise this pattern – and so does the agent working with him.
At Compass Group RO, we see this every day. Investors come to us after having already bought through someone else, ask us to assess the value of their property – and discover they paid 20% above market price. In this article you will get the tools to protect yourself in advance.
Why is price the most critical decision in the transaction?
There is a myth that needs busting: "If the property appreciates, a 15% premium will be wiped out within a few years."
That is mathematically wrong. Let us run the numbers:
- A villa at €150,000, with a 15% foreign buyer premium = €22,500 paid above the fair price.
- Nobody can guarantee appreciation, let alone at a pace that would close that gap.
- In other words, you are likely to absorb that €22,500 yourself – the market will not do it for you.
What is more: if you have to sell early – say after three years, for personal reasons – you will sell at a loss. The next buyer, a local Romanian, will not pay a foreign buyer premium. You will absorb it in full.
The conclusion: a fair price is not "just another parameter" of the deal. It is the precondition for a successful investment.
The four essential fair-price checks
Check 1: Price per square metre in the area
This is the basic metric – and also the most useful. Every property transaction in Romania ultimately comes down to a price per square metre of built area.
How do you check it?
- Online platforms – the main sites in the Romanian market: Imobiliare.ro, Storia.ro and OLX. Each of them lets you search by area and calculate an average price per m². Bear in mind: the prices on these sites are asking prices, not transaction prices. Deduct 5%–10% to arrive at the real price.
- Official market reports: firms such as Colliers Romania, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, JLL Romania and Imobiliare.ro publish quarterly reports with real price data by neighbourhood. These are reference sources that any professional investor should have at hand.
- The Romanian National Institute of Statistics (INS): publishes data on actual transactions at regional level.
Indicative price ranges as of early 2026 (check for regular updates):
- Central Bucharest: €2,200–3,500/m²
- Sought-after Bucharest suburbs: €1,500–2,200/m²
- Major cities (Cluj, Timișoara, Brașov): €1,800–2,800/m²
- Villa areas (such as the Compass on the Lake project): a wide range – €1,200–2,500/m², depending on the project's features
The gap between Bucharest prices and Israeli prices was described in an ynet report by Hila Tzion (in Hebrew).
Check 2: Comparable transactions
The average price for an area is a baseline. Comparable transactions are the precision tool.
A genuine comparable transaction meets four conditions:
- Same area (not just "the city") – the same neighbourhood, the same street if possible.
- Similar property type (villa to villa, apartment to apartment, same number of rooms).
- Similar condition (new versus new, renovated versus renovated).
- A transaction from the past year (going back 12 months, no further).
How do you get hold of them? Romania does not have an "open sales database" like Israel's, but there are ways:
- A professional Romanian lawyer with access to professional databases.
- Valuation firms authorised by the state to issue official valuation reports.
- Queries to the land registry (ANCPI) in certain cases.
Check 3: An independent local adviser
This is the most important check – and also the one investors skip most often.
Do not settle for the opinion of whoever is selling you the property. Even if he is honest. Even if he is reliable. Every property seller is incentivised to close the deal at the highest possible price. That is not a bad thing – it is simply how it works.
What you need is an independent third party:
- A licensed Romanian valuer.
- A Romanian lawyer whom you hired (not the one the seller recommended).
- An independent real estate adviser who works for you, on a fixed fee rather than a commission on the deal.
The cost of all three checks combined: €500–1,500. The protection you get: tens of thousands of euros.
Check 4: The notary
A Romanian notary relies on the "notaries' valuation guide", which sets minimum values for land, apartments or per square metre, by city, neighbourhood and street.
The smart investor does not ask 'how much does it cost?' He asks 'how much is it worth?'
Admittedly, the guide is intended for tax purposes – but it does provide an indication of price. If the property is priced below the minimum value, there is probably a problem with the property; and if it is priced excessively above the guide value, you are probably paying a "foreign buyer premium".
Do not hesitate – and do not be embarrassed – to ask to consult a notary (an independent one, not the one recommended by the seller or the agent) and obtain the value listed in the "notaries' valuation guide".
Property prices in Romania – the foreign buyer premium
Moti Azulay interviewed on the Israeli business channel on "Potchim Shuk" with Dafna Shahar and Eylon Berles
From the field: same apartment, same floor, different price
Attorney Ilan Leibovitch recalls:
At almost one in the morning an experienced investor called me. He had bought an apartment in a new Bucharest project through a charismatic Israeli marketer: an impressive lobby, renderings, and a furniture package presented as a “must”. He paid €165,000 for the apartment, €12,000 for the furniture and a month of management fees in advance.
Then he went to the developer’s official website and saw the same apartment, on the same floor, at €149,000. The furniture was not part of the developer’s price and was sold separately through the marketer, and a check with a local supplier put its real cost at €6,500 to €7,500. The total gap: about €28,000. When he asked, he was told that “the price on the website is a local price, foreign investors get a different product”.
A marketer may charge a commission, and this is not necessarily an offence. But the client did not know he was paying a premium, and on the day he sells, a local valuer will look at identical apartments selling for €149,000 to €155,000. My advice since then: ask the developer, directly and in writing, for the price without any intermediary, get an independent quote for the furniture, and ask what a local buyer would pay for the same apartment.
This is what the foreign buyer premium looks like up close. The signs below are there to spot it before signing, not at one in the morning afterwards.
Five signs you are paying a foreign buyer premium
How can you tell that a deal being offered to you has been priced "for foreigners"? Here are the five red flags:
🚩 Unnatural time pressure – "We need to close by Friday, there's another buyer." A trustworthy seller knows that a good client is worth the wait. Time pressure is a sales technique, not an indication of the quality of the deal.
🚩 Reluctance to allow an independent valuation – if the seller objects to an independent valuation at your expense, that is all you need to know. Why would he object if the price is fair?
🚩 No comparison with other transactions – "the price is the price", with no reference to similar deals in the area.
🚩 Pricing by "story" – a convoluted explanation of why this particular property is "worth more" than the local price. A genuinely special property justifies its own price in numbers.
🚩 No transparency on price per m² – the seller presents only an overall price, does not want to break it down by area, and gets confused in the calculation. Every real estate professional knows the price per m² of his property with his eyes closed.
How does Compass Group RO deal with the foreign buyer premium?
The exact opposite of the usual market: we work on built-in price transparency, not on maximising the price from a one-off customer. The reason lies in our business model, which we described in the previous article.
✅ A uniform price for all villas of the same type – Romanian, Israeli, American or French buyers all pay the same price. There is no "pricing by customer".
✅ One all-inclusive price – the price shown is a final price that includes VAT, purchase tax, and notary and legal fees. No games, no surprises, no small print.
✅ Proactive comparison with transactions in the area – we will show you ourselves the average price in the area and where our deal stands relative to it. No filters, no "playing with the data".
✅ Our goal: for you to come back to us for the next project – if you feel you were priced unfairly, you will not come back. And you will not refer your friends to us. Our entire business model depends on you experiencing a fair deal.
The strategic insight: in a "one deal and goodbye" model, the developer has an interest in maximising the price. In a "customer for life" model, the developer has an interest in fairness. We operate on the second model.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a square metre cost in Bucharest?
As of early 2026, the indicative range is €2,200–3,500 per m² in central Bucharest and €1,500–2,200 per m² in the sought-after suburbs. The exact price depends on the neighbourhood, the type of property and its condition.
Is the price on Romanian property websites the transaction price?
No. Imobiliare.ro, Storia.ro and OLX show asking prices, not transaction prices. Deduct 5%–10% to get closer to the real price.
How do I check a property's price in Romania before buying?
With four checks: the price per square metre in the area, comparable transactions from the past 12 months, the opinion of an independent local adviser, and the minimum value in the notaries' valuation guide. Together they show whether the asking price is fair or includes a foreign buyer premium.
How much does an independent price check cost?
A licensed valuer, a lawyer you hire yourself and an independent adviser usually cost €500–1,500 combined. The protection they give you is worth tens of thousands of euros.
What should I do if the seller objects to an independent valuation?
Treat it as one of the five red flags. A seller who is confident in his price has no reason to fear a check you pay for, so do not sign before the valuation is done.
The bottom line
A fair price is not a negotiation. It is a check. Three simple checks – price per m² in the area, comparable transactions, and the opinion of an independent party – will save you tens of thousands of euros and turn your investment from "a bet on appreciation" into "a rational investment on a solid foundation".
The smart investor does not ask "how much does it cost?" He asks "how much is it worth?" The difference between those two questions is the difference between an amateur investor and a professional one.
Would you like an independent price assessment of a property in our project that interests you?
Book a 30-minute consultation with us. We will go through the market price in the relevant area, the comparable transactions available, and the precise criteria for assessing value. Even if you don't end up buying your next property, you will leave with tools that will save you thousands of euros.
📩 Contact our team | 🌐 www.compassgroup.ro
Next in the series: Is Romania safe for investment? An objective analysis of the advantages, the risks, and Romania's position on the map of foreign investment in 2026.
This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal or financial advice.
Before entering into any transaction, we recommend consulting local experts.
Compass Group Romania – guiding Israeli investors in Romanian real estate, from the first idea to the keys.
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This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
