FIDES: Romania needs a national, affordable housing program

Romania Insider · 14.10.2026, 10:42:00

Romania needs a national, affordable housing program, adapted to local needs, and a functional legislative and financial framework, including for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs), participants at the Affordable Housing Summit Romania concluded. “We have one of the highest home-ownership rates in Europe, yet four in ten Romanians live in overcrowded homes. Owning a home is not the same as having the home you need. To move from policies to projects, and from projects to homes people can afford, we need a national program and rules that work, including for public-private partnerships and REITs,” said Constantin Sebeșanu, the president of the Federation of Investors and Developers for a Sustainable Economy (FIDES), an employers’ organization representing real estate developers and related activities. A 55-square-metre flat, bought with a 15% down payment and a 25-year mortgage, would take 56.3% of the average net salary. After the mortgage payment and a minimum cost-of-living basket, an employee on an average income would be left with EUR 47 a month. The analysis, made by the Institute for Visionary Cities (IOV) and presented at the summit, shows the hurdle to home ownership: not at the asking price, but at what is left of a salary once the mortgage is paid. In 2025, 93.2% of Romanians lived in a home owned by their household, the second-highest share in the European Union, and 92% lived in a home of their own with no loan on it, according to data presented at the summit. At the same time, 40.4% lived in overcrowded homes, against an EU average of 16.8%, the highest rate in the Union. Arrears on rent, mortgage, utility bills or hire purchase doubled in four years, from 9.4% in 2021 to 18.5% in 2025, the steepest increase in the EU. “Housing is relatively affordable. Financing it is not,” was the conclusion of the presentation by Florian Filat, Executive Director of IOV. The 56.3% payment in the model exceeds the 45% ceiling th