Romania’s mortgage market expanded in 2025, driven by a surge in suburban lending and a sharp increase in credit-backed acquisitions, even as major urban centers like Bucharest and Iași faced headwinds.
Total mortgage registrations rose 6.4% year-on-year to over 92,100 units, according to data released Monday by Ipotecare.ro and SVN Romania. The figures underscore a widening divergence in the residential market: while the capital city stagnated, its satellite county, Ilfov, posted the fastest growth nationwide.
While Bucharest remained the largest market with over 27,000 mortgages, volumes dipped nearly 2% compared to 2024. Conversely, Ilfov County surged 27.6%, registering 7,570 mortgages. Combined, the Bucharest-Ilfov region now accounts for nearly 38% of the national market.
Regional winners and losers
Secondary cities showed mixed performance. The western tech hub Cluj saw registrations jump 15% (over 6,000 units), Timiș posted steady growth of 7.4% (7,300 units), as Iași saw the sharpest contraction among top markets, plunging 26.4%, while the coastal city of Constanța slipped 5.2%.
In the first 11 months of 2025, banks issued €9.96 billion in mortgage loans, a 22% increase in value year-on-year. Mortgage-backed deals accounted for 57% of all residential transactions in 2025, up from 51% the previous year.
