A recent study by Storia and OLX Imobiliare revealed that 53% of Romanian users of the real estate platform plan to buy a vacation home within 6 months, while 30% aim to buy within a year and 15% within 3 years.
According to the data collected in June 2024, the majority of respondents (50%) have a budget of up to 50,000 euros, and 37% are willing to allocate between 50,000 and 100,000 euros for the purchase of a vacation home. About 9% of respondents are willing to spend between 100,001 and 150,000 euros, and 2% between 150,001 and 200,000 euros. Only 2% of those who want to buy a vacation home have a budget of over 200,000 euros. Cash remains the preferred payment method (56%).
Relaxation and disconnection are the primary motivators for vacation home purchases (77%). Six percent of respondents believe that this would be a long-term investment, with the intention of later selling the property at a higher price, another 6% want to rent it seasonally, while 11% of respondents stated that they have other reasons why they are interested in purchasing a vacation home.
Respondents’ top concerns include home price (75%), area safety (43%), construction quality (44%), and proximity to amenities (32%).
The majority of respondents (59%) prefer to purchase a holiday home in the mountains, while 20% prefer the seaside. In the mountainous areas, the most popular destinations are Moieciu (52%), Râșnov (47%) and Bușteni (42%). On the coast, the preferred locations are Mamaia (36%), Eforie (32%) and Neptun-Olimp (24%).
Those who would like to live in a vacation home in the urban environment place the seaside city of Constanta in the first place (41%). The mountainous city of Brasov is in second place, preferred by 36% of respondents, while the Romanian capital Bucharest was chosen by 16% of the respondents. The Transylvanian city of Sibiu was mentioned by 13% of the respondents, while 9% said they were looking for a vacation home in Iasi, in eastern Romania.
Most respondents (64%) said they prefer a house with between one and three bedrooms, while 19% would opt for a two-bedroom apartment and 17% for a house with four or more bedrooms. Other preferences include studios (15%) or three-room apartments (8%).
Almost half of respondents (47%) plan to spend time in their vacation home almost every weekend. A percentage of 20% plan to visit it occasionally, without a fixed frequency, while 17% want to live several times a year.
The rising interest in vacation home ownership could boost rural tourism and local economies.
