Summary: |
The real estate industry from transition countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe including Romania were hit harder than any other region in the world by the global recession of 2008–2009 (United Nations, 2010). Economic recovery started in the second half of 2009, but—for most of these economies—the crisis made painfully clear that the transition from a centrally planned to an open market economy has broad new prosperity which is highly sensitive to global economic shocks. Real estate has a crucial role in the global financial markets, with major real estate investors including besides banking the pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, private equity and endowments. However, the global financial crisis has had a major impact on real estate investing.Prior to the financial crisis, the ready availability of capital saw high levels of debt utilized by many real estate investors. As we move out of the crisis, the clear investment priorities are for lower debt levels, effective risk management, conservative investments (e.g. core real estate portfolios), increased professionalism, simpler and more transparent investment structures, reduced return expectations and greater consideration of the impact of increased financial regulations. Real estate continues to be seen as an important, long-term asset class for major investors, as well as an essential element in the economic and social.This paper aims at presenting the trends, structure and financing sources of real estate industry in Romania and their specificities in post-recession period. |