Average asking price for an apartment in Bucharest in September 2026, up 8.8% year on year (imobiliare.ro). New apartments: €2,552.
Eurostat's house price index for Romania rose 12.1% in Q2 2026, against 4.7% in the EU.
In Q2 2026, more than double the 3,201 of a year earlier, and 34.6% of all completions in Romania (INS).
Bucharest-Ilfov permits fell only 4.5%, against 18.5% across Romania (INS).
Value for Q2 2026, down from 6.06% a year earlier. The BNR policy rate stayed at 6.50%.
Key findings
The Living România Index is a quarterly data sheet on the housing market in Bucharest and Ilfov county. Every figure comes from a public source, with its date and a link, so it can be checked independently. The index contains no forecasts, no recommendations and no rental-yield figures.
Q3 2026 in five numbers:
- Bucharest asking prices rose 8.8% year on year, to €2,312 per m² in September 2026 (imobiliare.ro). That is faster than consumer prices (6.6%) and the average net wage (5.6%).
- Romanian house prices rose 12.1% year on year in Q2 2026, according to Eurostat. That is the fastest rate of the last four quarters and 2.6 times the EU average (4.7%).
- Bucharest-Ilfov completed 6,946 dwellings in Q2 2026, more than double the 3,201 of Q2 2025, and 34.6% of all dwellings completed in Romania (INS).
- Residential building permits fell 18.5% nationally in July and August 2026, but only 4.5% in Bucharest-Ilfov, the only region with more permits in January to August than a year earlier (INS).
- The IRCC mortgage reference rate fell to 5.57%, from 6.06% a year earlier. The National Bank kept its policy rate at 6.50% (BNR).
The index table
| Indicator | Area | Period | Value | A year earlier | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asking price, all apartments | Bucharest | Sep 2026 | €2,312/m² | €2,125/m² | +8.8% | imobiliare.ro |
| Asking price, new apartments | Bucharest | Sep 2026 | €2,552/m² | €2,378/m² | +7.3% | imobiliare.ro |
| Asking price, older apartments | Bucharest | Sep 2026 | €2,270/m² | €2,083/m² | +9.0% | imobiliare.ro |
| Asking price, national average | Romania | Sep 2026 | €2,019/m² | €1,905/m² | +6.0% | imobiliare.ro |
| House price index, annual change | Romania | Q2 2026 | +12.1% | +6.6% (Q3 2025) | Eurostat | |
| Dwellings completed | Bucharest-Ilfov | Q2 2026 | 6,946 | 3,201 | +117.0% | INS |
| Residential permits, Jul + Aug | Bucharest-Ilfov | 2026 | 682 | 714 | −4.5% | INS |
| Residential permits, Jul + Aug | Romania | 2026 | 5,852 | 7,182 | −18.5% | INS |
| IRCC (quarterly) | Romania | Q2 2026 | 5.57% | 6.06% | −0.49 pp | BNR |
| BNR policy rate | Romania | 8 Oct 2026 | 6.50% | 6.50% | unchanged | BNR |
| Annual inflation (CPI) | Romania | Sep 2026 | 6.6% | 9.9% | INS | |
| Average net wage | Romania | Aug 2026 | RON 5,688 | RON 5,387 | +5.6% | INS |
| EUR/RON | 30 Sep 2026 | 5.2785 | 5.0811 | +3.9% | BNR |
Prices: rising faster than wages and inflation
According to the imobiliare.ro price index, the average asking price for an apartment in Bucharest rose almost every month in 2026, from €2,214 per m² in January to €2,312 in September. New apartments behaved differently: they peaked at €2,637 per m² in May and eased to €2,552 in September, still 7.3% above September 2025.
These are asking prices in listings, not transaction prices. They show the direction of the market, not the price at which a given deal closed.
Transaction prices are measured by Eurostat, using data supplied by Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS). In Q2 2026, Romania's house price index rose 12.1% year on year: 12.8% for new dwellings and 11.8% for existing ones. The EU average was 4.7%, the euro area 4.0%. Eurostat does not publish this index by city.
Our calculation: months of wages per square metre. In September 2026, one square metre of an average Bucharest apartment cost about RON 12,200 at the asking price and the BNR exchange rate. That equals 2.15 months of Romania's average net wage (RON 5,688 in August). A year earlier the ratio was 2.00. The wage is the national average because INS does not report Bucharest in its monthly release; wages in the capital are higher.
Supply: record completions, fewer new permits
Bucharest-Ilfov completed 6,946 dwellings in Q2 2026, against 3,201 a year earlier. In the first half of 2026 the region completed 10,773 dwellings, up 53.7%. A large volume of construction started in earlier years is now being finished.
New permits tell a different story. Across Romania, 5,852 residential building permits were issued in July and August 2026, 18.5% fewer than a year earlier. In Bucharest-Ilfov the decline was much smaller, at 4.5%. From January to August it was the only one of Romania's eight development regions where the number of permits rose, by 4.
We don't know what next quarter will bring, so we won't write a forecast. What we can do is publish the numbers, with the sources, every three months.
One permit can cover a single house or a block of dozens of apartments, so INS also reports the number of dwellings in permitted residential buildings. Nationally, that figure was 7,071 in August 2026, almost unchanged from August 2025 (7,078). September data is due on 30 October.
Financing: rates easing slowly, the leu weaker
IRCC is the National Bank of Romania's reference index for most variable-rate mortgages in lei. Its latest published value, for Q2 2026, is 5.57%, against 6.06% for Q2 2025. On 8 October the National Bank kept its policy rate at 6.50%, where it has been since 8 August 2024.
The euro rose 3.9% against the leu over the year, from 5.0811 to 5.2785. In a market where apartment prices are quoted in euros and wages are paid in lei, a weaker leu makes housing more expensive for people who earn in lei.
Methodology
- Area: the INS development region Bucharest-Ilfov (the city of Bucharest and Ilfov county). Asking prices cover the city of Bucharest only. Where no regional figure exists, the national figure is shown and labelled as such.
- Period: the issue covers July to September 2026. Each indicator shows the latest value published by 16 October 2026, with the period it refers to. Some indicators refer to Q2 2026 because that is the latest release.
- Comparison: always with the same period a year earlier. Every percentage change is computed from the two values shown in the table.
- Asking prices: imobiliare.ro, average asking price in euros per m² of usable area, from listings on the portal. This is a private-sector index, not official statistics.
- Not included: rental yields, rents and forecasts. Property transaction counts from the National Agency for Cadastre (ANCPI) are not included because its monthly figures for July to September 2026 were not available on ancpi.ro on 16 October 2026; they will be added once published. Prices of our own project are not part of the index.
- Next issue: January 2027.
How to cite
Living România Index, Q3 2026. Compass on the Lake, compassgroup.ro. Data from INS, BNR, Eurostat and imobiliare.ro as listed below.
Press contact: Ilan Leibovitch, co-founder, Compass on the Lake · [email protected] · +40 729 877 235 (also on WhatsApp). Interviews in English, Hebrew and Romanian.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an apartment cost per square metre in Bucharest in 2026?
According to imobiliare.ro, the average asking price in September 2026 was €2,312 per m² for all apartments, €2,552 for new apartments and €2,270 for older ones. These are asking prices, not transaction prices.
How much have house prices risen in Romania?
According to Eurostat, Romania's house price index rose 12.1% year on year in Q2 2026, against 4.7% in the EU.
What is the mortgage reference rate in Romania?
The IRCC, used for most variable-rate mortgages in lei, is 5.57% (value for Q2 2026). Banks add a margin on top of it, so the actual rate is higher.
Is Bucharest building a lot of housing?
Bucharest-Ilfov completed 6,946 dwellings in Q2 2026, more than twice as many as a year earlier. New permits are relatively stable: down 4.5% in July and August, against 18.5% nationally.
Where does the data come from?
From Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS), the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Eurostat and the imobiliare.ro portal. Every row of the table names its source, and the list below links to each one.
About the index
Compass on the Lake is a 29-villa lakeside development in Balotești, north of Bucharest, by Moti Azulay and Ilan Leibovitch. We publish the index because buyers, especially from abroad, should be able to see the market data before they talk to any developer, including us.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources: imobiliare.ro price index, Bucharest and national average · Eurostat, house price index Q2 2026 (1 Oct 2026) and table prc_hpi_q · INS, dwellings completed Q2 2026 (14 Sep 2026) · INS, building permits August 2026 (30 Sep 2026) and July 2026 (31 Aug 2026) · INS, inflation September 2026 (13 Oct 2026) and September 2025 · INS, wages August 2026 (13 Oct 2026) and August 2025 · BNR, IRCC · BNR, policy decision of 8 Oct 2026 and policy rate history · BNR exchange rates 2026 and 2025
This index is for general information only and is not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Figures are correct as of 16 October 2026; some are provisional and may be revised. Past data does not guarantee future prices or outcomes.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
