Last year Moldova saw a record high number of real estate transactions – 20,400, or 10.8% up on the previous year. The number of apartments bought last year rose, but their average size was smaller, according to a report by IDIS Viitorul.

Whereas an average apartment was 120 square meters 15 years ago, last year it shrunk to under 70 square meters. One- and two-room apartments accounted for 78% of the total, compared to only 10% 15 years ago.

The real estate market becomes increasingly concentrated in Chisinau, with the capital accounting for 75% of all transactions, compared to 60% some 7 or 8 years ago. By value, Chisinau’s share is even bigger - over 80%.

Mortgages become a significant instrument in home buying, with 40% of apartments bought last year being mortgage-financed. After the 2015/16 crisis the mortgage market rebounded to hit a record of 8,100 apartments in 2018. This is also due to a shift in the banks’ mortgage policy: whereas 5 years ago mortgage deals were almost equally split between developers and home-buyers, today individual mortgage takers account for 83% of the total value. Meanwhile, bank loans offered to construction companies hit a record high of 4.7 billion lei in 2018.

To measure the purchasing power of Moldovan home buyers, in 2018 IDIS introduced a new market indicator - the number of average annual salaries needed to buy a 70 sq.m. apartment. Last year, this indicator dropped under 10 years for the first time ever. In particular, last year a family needed 9.4 annual salaries, compared to 11.2 salaries in 2017. Compared to the historical maximum of 36.6 average salaries in 2006, the indicator dropped by almost four times.