Romania recorded 381,094 property transactions in the first nine months of 2026, down 17.8% from 463,592 in the same period of 2025, according to an analysis signed by Keller Williams Romania president Alexandru Văcaru. However, around 80% of the decline occurred in the third quarter, when comparisons were distorted by exceptional events in both years.
The first quarter was down 12%, while the second quarter - the only period without major disruptions - was broadly stable, recording a 0.3% increase. June sales were 5.3% higher year over year.
By contrast, third-quarter transactions fell 37.9% in 2026. While July 2025 had been unusually strong as buyers rushed to complete purchases before a VAT increase, July 2026 was affected by the shutdown of land-registry platform e-Terra following a cyberattack.
Without access to land-registry documents, notaries were unable to authenticate transactions during the outage. Only 11,415 properties were recorded as sold in July 2026, followed by 38,669 in August, according to Keller Williams.
September then climbed to 58,353 transactions, up 5.6% year over year, as delayed files were processed and some buyers rushed to meet the September 30 deadline for purchases eligible for the 9% VAT rate.
The national figure also conceals significant regional differences. Sibiu county recorded growth of 5.7%, while Brașov county declined by 33%, despite both being affected by the same land-registry disruption.
“The market in 2026 is neither collapsing nor clearly recovering,” reads the analysis, recommending that buyers, sellers, and agents examine local figures and months unaffected by exceptional events before making decisions.
The final quarter will indicate whether the summer decline represented a temporary interruption or a broader change in market direction, the same source said.