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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Romania: The Market has Awakened
It seems that Romania has finally found its unique way of transition from the communist past to the bright capitalist future. The relative stability, both economic and political, apparently has benign effects on the real estate market, both residential and commercial. The prices in the capital have increased substantially in the last year, more than in the suburbs than in the center. Foreign companies show interest for land in the province, particularly in the western parts of Romania. The mid-term forecasts are also predominantly optimistic. Some additional credit liberalization and also the fight against the inflation are expected to contribute to further market development. Every owner in Bucharest is hoping that the inevitable speculation will inflate further the prices, adding value to their assets. After some unsuccessful liberal economic experiments in the late 1990's, the power is again in the hands of those who abandoned the Ceausescu's chip in 1989. For now Romania appears to be the only country in Central and Eastern Europe, where the former communists* will have so strong political positions ahead of the final talks for EU membership. The worse is that the liberal opposition in Romania is weak, compared even to some other Balkan countries. The last presidential election made the ultra-nationalists the main opposition force, so the political development in the country should be considered as potentially risky. Another weak point in the rosy investment picture is the threat of inflation and possible currency devaluation that hunts the investors since 1989. Unlike the neighboring Bulgaria, Romania didn't peg its money to any stable currency and there are no chances that this would be made in the years to come. The third concern for the investors should be the timetable for EU membership. Even if Bucharest insists on 2007 as a possible and realistic date for entry, the reality is much more complicated. Brussels shows no understanding about many problems Romania faces, both in economic and social sphere. Some later dates like 2009 or even 2010 are unofficially mentioned and this can only make the market more nervous. For the last 3 years Romania has made deals with EU on less than 2/3 of all issues that will be included in the final treaty of membership. The remaining 1/3, which concerns more sensitive issues, will take another year at least to accomplish. If talks turn to be complicated, this could take second year. By that time EU will have new members, who will have right to take part in the talks, which will make another delay. Given the minimum technical time for EU treaty ratification of 2 years, 2008 becomes the earliest possible date for Romania. Rising inflation, currency devaluation, political extremism, EU membership delay, these and many more problems and risks have to be eliminated before Romania become stable and prosperous country at the eastern border of EU. Till then any market boom could remain precarious and short-lived.
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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Romania.
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