Property values in Romania went up by more than a third last year, according to new figures.

Property consultant Anglo-Romanian Development (ARD) revealed that in 2007, house prices in the country increased by 40%.

The organisation stated that this surge was largely driven by wage increases among the local population throughout this period.

This was said to have come about as a result of Romania's accession to the European Union in January 2007.

ARD went on to highlight a number of regional variations across the country, such as a 63.5% increase in prices in Bucharest.

This suggests that the Romanian capital is attracting the bulk of the interest from property buyers.

Commenting on the trend, ARD said: "The Romanian economy continues to grow, providing excellent returns for those investing in the property market."

This comes after the National Statistics Institute revealed that its gross domestic product went up by 6% last year, reports Balkan Insight.com.