The business deals with land continue to be the most profitable on Romania's real estate market, ACT Media news agency reports.

In Bucharest, the investments in plots of land bring, in general, a yield above the country's average.The selling prices of Bucharest plots of land rose 25-30%. One sqm of land in luxury residential districts Primaverii and Kiseleff (north) is traded for 3,500 euros, according to a study of CB Richard Ellis company.

Specialists say the properties in south and east of Bucharest will record notable rise in their prices this year. The investors who bought land in Titan, Rahova or Progresului districts in early 2006 remarked the market value rose 50% in less than 12 months. The plots of land in these districts were sold even for 700 euros/sqm. Alexandru Bursuc, consultant with DTZ, believes the most profitable areas in Bucharest are those where prices are still low. Bursuc says any price increase in land is influenced by the City Hall's projects of providing utility services and big property developments.

The consultants with CB Richard Ellis say this year there will be partnerships between the land owners and investors, mainly due to the increasingly lower offer of valuable properties. The ascending trend is felt in the cities of Romania. The land market in Cluj-Napoca (north-west of Bucharest) rose some 25% in the first months of the year, and may continue to rise. One sqm in the centre of the city costs some 1,000 euros. The local specialists say there are numerous requests for areas less in demand in the previous years.