The Realty Exchange (BVI), established in September 2006, is planning to expand operations internationally, according to Executive Director Felicia Nitu. She added that foreign real estate agencies and developers would not be able to list their products, but only participate in transactions. Bulgaria is an exception: "Bulgaria gets preferential treatment because Romanian investors have started being interested in buying property in Bulgaria. In the future, we may also open to other countries, too," said Nitu.
BVI has only one office, in Bucharest, but is planning to expand in Constanta, Brasov, Cluj, Sibiu, Bistrita and Ploiesti. Another plan is to start an escrow service to ensure the security of real estate transactions, in partnership with one or several commercial banks. BVI is a private institution having some 40 members. The value of the properties listed for trading is 33.33 milllion EUR.