Rents in Romania's capital Bucharest are reaching 390 eur/m2, which is above the average monthly salary (345 euros).

Luxury apartment buyers pay more than 1,800 eur/m2, while the prices for average apartment prices are at 900 and 1,300 euros.

Office rents in Bucharest run at around 20-25 eur/m2 for class A space and between 10 and 19 eur for class B and C, depending on location.

The real estate market is recording a significant slow down over the past several months. This is to large extent due to the crisis in the sector the whole of Europe is seeing in recent years.

Apartment prices throughout Romania are falling all the time. In some areas in Bucharest the decline has reached 15%.

Arabesque, the large4st distributor of construction materials in Romania, with annual turnover of 450 mln euros, is expecting a slow down on its market in 2009.

Real estate transactions on some segments are down to 20-25%.