An apartment in Romania costs an average of 114,900 euro, almost 5% more than a year ago, while buying a house requires an average budget of 170,000 euro, according to an analysis published on Thursday by a real estate platform.

According to data compiled by Imobiliare.ro, although Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest and Brasov top the ranking of cities where buyers have to pay the most for a property, the fastest price growth compared with early autumn last year has been recorded in Resita and Zalau.

Nationwide, the threshold of 2,000 euro per square metre of usable floor space has been reached or exceeded in only seven cities. Cluj-Napoca remains the most expensive urban centre and the only city where the average asking price for apartments listed for sale exceeds 3,300 euro per square metre of usable floor space, following an annual increase of 5%.

The next places in the ranking are occupied by Bucharest, at 2,312 euro per square metre, Brasov at 2,309 euro, Craiova at 2,142 euro, Sibiu at 2,034 euro, Constanta at 2,020 euro, Iasi at 2,000 euro, Targu Mures at 1,994 euro, Timisoara at 1,984 euro and Oradea at 1,885 euro.

At the opposite end of the scale is Resita, the cheapest city in Romania for those looking to buy property. It is also the only county capital where the average asking price has yet to reach 1,000 euro per square metre of usable floor space. Nevertheless, Resita recorded the sharpest price increase over the past year, at 15.4%. A similar rise was seen in Zalau, where prices reached 1,303 euro per square metre, up 15.3% over the same period.

The analysis also shows that asking prices for apartments fell slightly, by around 3%, over the past year in only two county capitals: Calarasi, where prices stood at 1,160 euro per square metre of usable floor space, and Braila, at 1,055 euro.

In the housing segment, the average budget required to buy a house in Romania stands at 170,000 euro, according to property experts.

These properties have an average usable floor area of 116 square metres, while the most expensive houses can be found in Cluj-Napoca, at 3,375 euro per square metre of usable floor space. The city also recorded one of the most significant price increases in this market segment over the past year, at 7%.

Asking prices for houses and villas also rose by 11% in Brasov, to 2,414 euro per square metre, by 9% in Sibiu, to 2,095 euro, and by around 8% in Craiova, to 1,721 euro. In Bucharest, the average price per square metre for this type of property reached 2,342 euro. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Badea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)