LUCIAN ORBAN President of Tomis Development

The city of Constanta to receive investment of €70 million as developers take advantage of still low prices

The Black Sea city of Constanta is gaining in popularity among foreign and local real estate investors owing to its untapped potential and large population. In addition, prices are still below levels seen in the capital, Bucharest.

Tomis Development is building a €70 million ($93 million) residential park on a surface of 128,000 sqm, marking the largest residential project in Constanta. The development, Tomis Plus, will include a total of 584 houses, 448 apartments, and 136 villas. The project also includes 600 parking spaces for the underground lot and for the surface area, a restaurant, a pool, a fitness club, a kindergarten, two green spaces, banks, a pharmacy, and a supermarket.

Talking about the advantages of investing in Constanta, Lucian Orban, President of Tomis Development, points out that it is the second largest city in Romania, with 60,000 inhabitants. “It is a tourist location, with an average tourist population of about 2.5 million a year,” he adds. “Constanta’s real estate prices are still a lot below their real value and any experienced international investor can see that upon a close look; and a lot of them already have.”

The project will be completed in six stages. The first stage is already finished and includes ten houses, all of which have already been bought. The second phase will entail the construction of the townhouses. The company hopes to have the project wrapped up by 2010.

Tomis Development has other planned residential projects for Constanta that are scheduled to be built following the completion of the main stages of Tomis Plus. The company started up its construction business in 2003, and Tomis Plus is its first residential project.

The residential sector is booming across the country, with more than 20 large projects launched in 2006, totaling 10,000 new homes. This is a major increase compared to 2005, when only three residential projects were started up in Romania, offering about 1,000 new homes.

However, none of the projects are near completion yet. Fierce demand has meant that around 70 percent of the projects launched have been sold in their off-plan phase, according to real estate analysts. Mr. Orban predicts that the real estate sector will continue to grow over the next five years.

“In Romania, there is a demand for a minimum of 800,000 units. In 2007, Bucharest is expected to launch about 15,000. Constanta will launch around 272 apartments. Of course, new investors are coming in with new projects,” he says.