Bucharest

Together with the Ilfov County it forms the Bucharest metropolitan area. Bucharest is the fourth largest city in Eastern Europe after Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev, and is the 9th largest city in Europe.

According to Romanian Regional Development Agency, the development the Bucharest-Ilfov region is the first large consuming market in Romania due its population density and economic growth.

The same institution has estimated that for 2006-2008, the growth rate of Bucharest region will exceed the national average and the capital will see a record rate in 2007. Additionally, in 2007, the NFC estimates the growth will reach 7.1% in Bucharest and 6% for Romania while in 2008 the economic development is estimated to be 6.8% in the capital and 6.3% nationwide.

For 2006-2008, the NFC projected an increase in the GDP/capita for the Bucharest region from 8,875.5 euros to 11, 416.3 euros, this being the largest level in the country.

The Bucharest market has been influenced by the following cumulative factors:

• UE accession has attracted major foreign investors who have focused on the capital city;
• Bucharest is hosting most of Romanian’ businesses and most of the international companies have chosen to locate their offices here;
• The development of new mortgage market has generated a residential boom in terms of the number and frequency of residential transactions;
• The prioritization of the infrastructure projects with a special focus on developing the city transport and utility systems as well as the ring road and motorways linking the main European corridors. In this respect, for 2006-2008 the Bucharest municipality has allocated Euro 2.3 billion, the highest budget the city has ever had.