Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Foreign investment accumulated in Romania’s real estate transactions sector reached approximately EUR 22.1 billion at the end of 2025, giving property a 16.4% share of the country’s total foreign direct investment stock. Based on National Bank of Romania data analysed by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, real estate ranked behind manufacturing, which held EUR 35.7 billion and accounted for 26.5% of the total.
The increase in accumulated capital came despite a weaker year for new investment into the sector. Real estate transactions received EUR 479 million of net FDI during 2025, compared with EUR 593 million a year earlier. Construction attracted a further EUR 74 million, taking combined net inflows into construction and property to EUR 553 million, 11.8% below the EUR 627 million recorded in 2024.
The longer-term development is more pronounced. Foreign investment stock across construction and real estate reached almost EUR 23.9 billion at the end of 2025, compared with approximately EUR 8.4 billion in 2015. This represents growth of nearly 186% over ten years and has increased the sector’s weight within Romania’s overall foreign investment base. At the end of 2024, the comparable construction and real estate position stood at EUR 21.6 billion, according to earlier National Bank of Romania data.
Property’s softer annual inflow contrasts with a substantial recovery in foreign investment across the Romanian economy. Total net FDI reached EUR 7.91 billion in 2025, an increase of 41.1% from the previous year. Of this amount, EUR 3.25 billion came from new equity contributions, EUR 3.01 billion from earnings retained in Romanian businesses and EUR 1.65 billion from financing between foreign investors and their Romanian operations.
Romania’s accumulated FDI position increased to EUR 134.8 billion by the end of 2025. Equity and retained profits represented EUR 98.16 billion, while debt instruments accounted for EUR 36.66 billion. The total has more than doubled over the past decade, from EUR 64.7 billion in 2015, illustrating the increasing role of international capital across the Romanian economy.
Foreign investment remains heavily concentrated geographically. Bucharest-Ilfov accounted for 66.9% of the national FDI stock at the end of 2025, while the region also contains close to 63% of Romania’s modern office, retail, industrial and logistics space. The figures underline the capital region’s continuing dominance while also indicating the potential for Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Brașov and other regional economic centres to attract a larger proportion of future investment.
The FDI figures should not be confused with direct purchases and sales of commercial properties. Romania’s commercial real estate transaction market totalled approximately EUR 514 million in 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, while FDI stock measures accumulated qualifying foreign investment in Romanian businesses, including equity, retained profits and financing relationships.
The latest figures therefore present a mixed picture for property. New foreign capital entering construction and real estate declined during 2025 even as Romania’s overall FDI inflows recovered strongly. At the same time, the sector’s accumulated foreign investment has expanded substantially over the past decade, leaving real estate as one of the largest components of Romania’s international capital base.
