Genoa Apartment Priced at 45,000 Euros Sparks Romanian Housing Debate

A real estate advertisement from Italy, featuring a two-bedroom apartment in Genoa priced at 45,000 euros, has ignited a fervent discussion among Romanians online. The listing, located in the Sampierdarena district, has drawn comparisons to housing costs within Romania, revealing a striking disparity.

Sampierdarena, once a fishing village now an industrial-port area in Genoa, is experiencing demographic decline and an aging population. Despite this, the 45,000 euro price tag for a two-bedroom unit stands in sharp contrast to the escalating property market in Romania. Italian real estate agencies do offer other properties at similarly low prices, often in peripheral or less desirable areas.

In Romania, particularly in major cities like Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, housing prices continue their upward trend. Two-bedroom apartments in Bucharest frequently sell for at least 100,000 euros, with prices sometimes exceeding 200,000 euros. Cluj-Napoca follows a similar pattern, with average prices per square meter reaching up to 4,000 euros in the city center, making a 50-square-meter two-bedroom apartment cost between 150,000 and 160,000 euros.

While cities like Iași, Timișoara, and Constanța offer slightly lower prices, they are also experiencing growth. Only in smaller, depopulated towns affected by industrial decline can one find apartments for as little as 10,000 euros, though these locations often present challenges such as isolation and economic hardship. The affordability of the Genoa apartment has led many Romanians to express surprise and ironic commentary, with some jokingly stating a preference for higher prices within Romania.

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45,000 euros for two rooms in Genoa, Italy? No, brother, I have nothing to look for with those macaroni eaters, I want to pay from 200,000 euros upwards in my country, Romania.