- For foreign buyers
- Built with local realtors
- Updated this quarter
Here's 99% of what you need to know before buying in Bucharest.
The 12 documents we wish we had before buying in Bucharest. What each area costs, how long a flat sits before it sells, and what it earns once let. Plus the things nobody writes down: the red plaque on the wall of some of the prettiest buildings, and the permits a court can still annul.
The 12 documents to make a good real estate investment in Bucharest in 2026
Hundreds of buildings here carry an official mark saying they may not survive the next large earthquake, which is exactly why some of them look cheap. Elsewhere a block can be finished, sold, and then have its permit annulled in court. These documents show you what is actually earned and paid. They are put together with agents, notaries and owners we work with in the city.
Questions
Do you list your sources?
Yes, on every table. Each one says where the figures came from and the month they were collected: the land book, the city's own register of seismically classified buildings, published notary and cadastre rates, listing histories we track ourselves, owners' association accounts shared with us, and what the agents we work with in each area are seeing week to week. Anything that is an estimate rather than a recorded number is labelled as one.
What is the red plaque on some buildings?
An official classification saying the building is expected to be unsafe in a large earthquake. It is not a rumour or an opinion, it is a register the city publishes, and it explains why some of the most beautiful addresses in the centre are also the cheapest. Insurance and lending treat those buildings very differently.
Can a foreigner actually buy property here?
An apartment, yes. Land is where it differs: a buyer from outside the European Union faces restrictions on owning land directly, which matters for a house or a plot far more than for a flat in a block. Document 08 sets out what applies to the kind of property you are looking at.
Can a building permit really be cancelled after it is built?
It has happened to entire blocks here, leaving owners with flats they could not register or resell. The permit and any challenge against it are checkable before you pay anything, and almost nobody does it. Document 08 shows where to look.
What about buildings that were nationalised?
Property taken by the state was returned from the nineties onward, and the process left claims and disputes behind it. On an older address it is worth knowing whether one was ever lodged, because it travels with the flat rather than with the seller. That check is in documents 08 and 09.
Is the heating really a problem?
In parts of the city, yes. Blocks on the district network lose a great deal of heat before it arrives, and the bills and the reliability vary enormously from one street to the next. What to ask, and which blocks have their own plant, is in document 04.
How long are the documents?
One to four pages each. They are tables and checklists rather than reports, so any one of them takes about ten minutes to read.
Which areas do you cover?
Eighteen areas: Centrul Vechi, Cișmigiu, Universitate, Dorobanți, Primăverii, Aviatorilor, Floreasca, Herăstrău, Cotroceni, Tineretului, Unirii, Titan, Berceni, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Băneasa, Pipera and Domenii. If you need somewhere or a specific development that is not in there, write to us and we will put it together for you at no extra cost.
I have a question about my own situation.
Ask us. If the answer is in the research we already have, we will send it. If it needs a call to someone in that area or a look at a specific building, we will do that too and come back to you, at no extra cost.
Is $99 a lot for a set of documents?
You are about to buy in a market where the prettiest building on the street can be the one nobody will insure. A permit under challenge, a claim on the address, a block that cannot be mortgaged: there are plenty of ways this gets expensive.
What format are they in, and when do I get them?
PDF, so you can read them on your phone, tablet or computer. The download link appears on screen straight after payment and a copy arrives by email.
How often are they updated?
Every quarter. Our contacts in Bucharest re-check the numbers before each release, so the version you download today is the one updated this quarter.
I have another question.
Ask us on the contact page and we will get back to you.
Three packs
The first pack has 4 documents, the second has 6, and the third has all 12 of our Bucharest research.
All the data and information in these documents was checked this year with agents, notaries and owners working in Bucharest.