The prices of apartments in Chisinau in the past five years increased eight times or by 30-40% yearly. Rental prices rose three-four times or by 20% a year, Info-Prim Neo reports, making reference to the Realty Agency “Lara”. According to experts, the apartment prices on the secondary market increased by 12-14% last year, while the demand remained as high as in the previous years. There were cases when the demand exceeded the supply and many sellers artificially raised the prices because they did not have rivals. At the end of 2007, a square metre of apartment on the secondary market cost 730 euros. The price of a square meter had increased from March until September owing to a high demand and the lack of real estate that would interest the buyers. Compared with 2006, the real estate market was the most buoyant in August and in September. Analysts say that this is due to the fact that many citizens that work abroad returned to the country in this period. Actually, they form the main category of buyers of Chisinau apartments. About 30% of all the apartments sold were purchased as investment, meaning not for living in, but for future financial return. Late last year, a one-room apartment in Chisinau’s Centru district cost, on average, 26,000 euros on the secondary market and 32,000 euros in new blocks. In the other sectors, the prices varied between 24,000 and 29,000 euros. Four-room apartments in Centru district cost between 40,000 and 60,000 euros, while in the other sectors between 37,000 and 56,000 euros. Most of the experts consider that the apartment prices and the number of new constructions will continue to rise. The situation in Chisinau is different as there are practically no more plots for construction, but the apartments are always in demand.