Real Estate Trends: Lower Margin, Better Adaptation to Actual Purchasing Power

The leading real estate agencies and developers operating in Romania are not discouraged by the ongoing international financial crisis and its possible effects on Romania, even though transactions have decreased considerably. They claim that solutions exists to ensure business continuity throughout the crisis. Irina Petrescu, a manager with the realtor Esop Consulting said: "If a project is not adapted to the market, it will not sell either during or after a crisis. If the surface, the amenities and the finishing work is not well adapted to the surrounding neighborhood or the sale price, the project will not be successful on any market." She added that the developers who are not going to understand that the market is not going through a crisis, but a rearrangement would have problems in the near future. In her opinion, they should adapt to the latest facts and understand who the customers are now, what they want from a residential project and especially what they can pay. The management of QCM believe that those who have planned a constant and safe business, with profits of up to 40% spread for several years, are not afraid of the current situation on the international financial markets. As long as the demand on the Romanian market is high, the worst that can happen is to make less profit, but never to lose, QMC believes. In turn, Nimrod Zvik, Marketing Manager of Seven Hills, said developers should aim for decent profits and build for the medium class. Developers who are not dependant on banks and have sufficient financial resources to implement their projects on long term should not have any problems because of the crisis. Hai Solomon, the developer of Obor Towers, believes Romania continues to be attractive for investors because the demand for housing is very high. If the project is adapted to the market in terms of both facilities and price, the project will sell.