The INS house price index, built from notary contract prices, rose 12.1% in a year. It is national and has no €/m² level.
According to Imobiliare.ro, all Bucharest apartments were asking a median €2,312 per m² of usable area in September 2026, up 8.6% in a year.
According to Storia, resale flats in Bucharest asked €278 per m² more than new ones in July 2026. The main reason: location.
Price per m² sources in Bucharest: the short answer
In the summer of 2026, two of Romania's largest property portals described the same city in opposite ways. According to the Imobiliare.ro index, new apartments in Bucharest were asking €2,549 per m² in August 2026. According to Storia, new apartments were asking €1,982 per m² in July 2026, and resale apartments were more expensive than new ones, at €2,260. Neither figure is wrong. They measure different listings, with different methods.
Most numbers you will see for Bucharest are asking prices from listings. The only official series built on real contract prices is the house price index compiled by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) from notary data and published by Eurostat. It shows how prices change, not what a square metre costs. ANCPI, the land registry agency, counts transactions but publishes no prices.
In plain words: a price per m² is only meaningful once you know who measured it, what was measured, and when.
The main sources, side by side
| Source | What it measures | Price type | Method | Latest figure we checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INS house price index, published by Eurostat | All dwellings bought by households in Romania | Contract prices recorded by notaries | Hedonic index, quarterly; no €/m² level | Q2 2026: +12.1% on a year earlier (new +12.8%, existing +11.8%) |
| ANCPI monthly statistics | Number of property sales and mortgages, by county | No prices | Count of registrations | Counts only |
| Notary market studies (grila notarială) | Minimum reference values per area | Tax floor, not market value | Updated at least once a year | 2026 study, Bucharest and Ilfov |
| Imobiliare.ro index | Apartments and houses listed on Imobiliare.ro | Asking prices | Median, €/m² of usable area, extreme 2.5% removed, monthly | Bucharest, all apartments, September 2026: €2,312 (+8.6% a year). New apartments, August 2026: €2,549 |
| Storia analysis | 1–3 room apartments listed on Storia | Asking prices | Average, monthly | Bucharest, July 2026: new €1,982, resale €2,260, combined €2,160 |
| Bank valuation | One specific property | Market value for lending | Authorised valuer, ANEVAR standards | Per property |
The figures in the last column come from different months and different samples. That is the point: they are not supposed to match.
Asking price or transaction price
An asking price is what a seller writes in an ad. A transaction price is what a buyer actually paid and signed for in front of a notary. In Romania, the transaction prices exist in the notarial contracts, but they reach the public only as an index.
According to the INS methodology filed with Eurostat, the Romanian index is compiled from the full transaction prices recorded in contracts signed before notaries, collected under a protocol between INS, the National Union of Notaries and the National Bank of Romania. Prices include the land. The index adjusts for differences in location, age and size (a "hedonic" method), so a quarter full of small flats does not look like a fall in prices.
The limits: the index is national, Eurostat does not publish a Bucharest figure, and it arrives late. INS publishes nationally about 112 days after the end of a quarter. So in October 2026, the latest official reading is still the second quarter.
Why two portals disagree about new and old flats
Back to the opening example. Imobiliare.ro found new apartments well above the city average. Storia found them below resale apartments. Four differences explain most of it:
- Median versus average. Imobiliare.ro uses the median and removes the most expensive and cheapest 2.5% of listings. Storia reports average asking prices. A few expensive projects move an average more than a median.
- Different listings. Each portal measures only its own ads. Developers, agents and private sellers do not list the same homes everywhere.
- Different scope. Storia's figures cover 1–3 room apartments. Imobiliare.ro's city figure covers all apartments.
- Location mix. Storia's own explanation is location: older blocks tend to be more central and better connected, while many new projects are on the edges of the city. Within the same neighbourhood, it says, new homes usually remain more expensive.
Location alone can swamp everything else. Imobiliare.ro's first-half 2026 data put new apartments in Sectors 1 and 2 above €4,000 per m², and in Sectors 3 to 6 at roughly €2,450–2,570.
A price per m² is only meaningful once you know who measured it, what was measured, and when.
Why the official index and the portals move at different speeds
The INS index rose 12.1% in a year to the second quarter of 2026. Imobiliare.ro's Bucharest asking price rose 8.6% in a year to September 2026. These are not in conflict either:
- Different periods. One is a quarter ending in June, the other a month ending in September.
- Different places. One covers the whole country, the other one city.
- Different prices. One is what buyers paid, the other what sellers ask.
- Different units. The portals quote euros per m². The official series is an index with no price level at all, so it can only be compared in percentage changes.
For context, the EU average rise in the same quarter was 4.7%, according to Eurostat.
The notary grid is a floor, not a price
The notary market studies set minimum values used to calculate taxes when property changes hands. The Bucharest Chamber of Notaries says in plain terms that these values are not market values. A grid figure well below a developer's price does not mean you are overpaying. We explain how the grid works, and where it changes your tax, in our guide to the notary grid.
Ilfov: where the indices go quiet
Imobiliare.ro publishes city pages for Bucharest and the large cities, but not for the communes of Ilfov such as Balotești, Corbeanca or Otopeni. Storia's analysis covers cities too. In the villa belt north of Bucharest, there is no published €/m² series to lean on. For a house, the useful references are comparable listings for similar plots and finishes, the notary grid as a floor, and the bank's valuation of the specific property. Our guide to property valuation in Romania explains what the valuer looks at.
How to read any price per m²: a checklist
- Asking or paid? Listings tell you what sellers hope for. Only contracts tell you what buyers pay.
- Which area? Romanian ads quote usable area (suprafață utilă), built area (suprafață construită), or a figure that includes balconies and terraces. The same price gives three different €/m². See Romanian property ads decoded.
- Is VAT included? New homes carry 21% VAT. A price "plus VAT" and an all-in price are not comparable. See our guide to VAT on new homes.
- What else is included? Parking space, storage room, finish level, land share for a house.
- Which month, and which sample? A figure from one portal in July and another in September are two different photographs.
- Median or average, and of what? All apartments, or only 1–3 rooms? New, resale, or both?
- Check against the floor and the lender. The notary grid is the minimum for tax. The bank's valuation is what a lender will finance against.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average price per m² in Bucharest in 2026?
It depends on the source. Imobiliare.ro puts the median asking price for all apartments at €2,312 per m² of usable area in September 2026. Storia puts the average asking price for 1–3 room apartments at €2,160 in July 2026. Both are asking prices, not transaction prices.
Is there an official price per m² for Bucharest?
No official €/m² level is published. INS compiles a house price index from notary contract prices, and Eurostat publishes it for Romania as a whole. It shows how prices change over time, not the price of a square metre.
Does ANCPI publish property prices?
No. ANCPI publishes monthly counts of property sales and mortgages by county. They show market activity, not prices.
Why are resale flats sometimes more expensive than new ones in Bucharest?
According to Storia's analysis, mainly because of location. Older blocks are often more central and better connected than new projects on the edge of the city. Within the same neighbourhood, new homes usually cost more.
Is the notary grid the market value of a home?
No. The Bucharest Chamber of Notaries states that the values in its market studies are minimum references for tax and do not represent market values.
The bottom line
Each source answers a different question. The official index tells you the direction of real prices, the portals tell you what sellers are asking this month, the notary grid gives the tax floor, and the bank's valuation tells you what a lender will accept for one specific home. Read a price only after you know which of these questions it answers.
At Compass on the Lake, our 29 villas in Balotești start from €299,900, a price that already includes 21% VAT, the notary and the lawyer. When you compare it with other listings, compare like with like.
If you want to check a price you have been offered, in our project or anywhere else, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go through what the number includes and which sources it should be measured against.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources: Eurostat, house price index (prc_hpi_q), data updated 1 October 2026 · Eurostat, Romania national HPI metadata (INS) · National Institute of Statistics (INS) · ANCPI · Bucharest Chamber of Notaries, market studies of minimum values · Imobiliare.ro index and methodology, September 2026 · Imobiliare.ro, Bucharest, September 2026 · Revista Biz, Imobiliare.ro data on new apartments, 8 September 2026 · Storia, July 2026 price analysis
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures are as published by each source on the dates shown; correct as of 22 October 2026. Past data does not indicate future prices.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
