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House prices per sqm in Romania based on average net earnings per month is lower than ever, lower than 2014 when price per sqm were at the lowest after the 2008 financial crisis.

Why don't you consider buying the house with a bank loan? it's the best decision to do so even if you have all the money... if you talk with a financial consultant you'll see why.

Housing prices are not out of control, we are lagging years behind other European countries in regard with house prices. If you look on the numbers you will see that this is actually a good time to buy a house in Romania.

Banks/etc will usually not give you a loan/mortgage if you don't have a local 9-5 job. This is often not an option for freelancers.

No offense but I think you do not understand how privileged you are.

Offense seems to be the only thing you do around here. I know I’m privileged, I work with unprivileged people to help them get better sometimes and that is probably the best way to feel how much inequality there is between us.

Having a lot of money relative to the place you live in doesn’t guarantee your happiness. Privilege means nothing in the face of illness of a loved one, having to live with parents at 30 because you had to evacuate a rent made without contract and more things I would like to not share on a tech forum..

Please get a sense of what’s being talked around here, what’s the negativity for?

I don't want to be negative and it's great to see what you've accomplished, the problems you are mentioning and alluding to are unfortunately not exclusive to your country, I could share some horror stories too and I come from the "developed and rich" western europe.

The point is that the net income you get is very high for european standars, let alone Romania. With that level of income it is really weird that you cannot solve the problems you have.

The phrase "I would still need to not spend anything for a year to be able to afford a house" is bonkers.

Bonkers it is yet it’s true. The house prices are a joke right now here. I don’t know what drives such prices, 95% of Romanians will never be able to afford a €200k house with 50sqm of paved courtyard in front. Supply and demand my ass…

Believe me, I’m so sick of “calling for details” because everyone hides most useful details in the house ad, then asking if it has paperwork ready which most don’t and expect you to buy the house based on how the house looked 20 years ago before heavy renovations with the cheapest materials possible, then spending numbing hours on trains to get to see that house in real life only to see how many lies were said on the phone and how that house would never be evaluated at more than half its price…

That above is extremely common, I’ve been going through this for the past 4 years and I’m So. Sick. Of. It.

To my ears, supply and demand sounds like it makes a lot of sense here. Romania began as a country where most people owned their home, and still is; and it sounds like making the move from owning to renting comes with significant loss of political privileges, like healthcare, apparently. If I didn't speak English and would lose access to healthcare if I sold my house, I probably wouldn't sell it either unless it was absolutely necessary. Hence the supply is low, and when you throw corruption on top of that...

OP, consider moving to a country where renting doesn't turn you into a second class citizen if this really bothers you so much. It's counterintuitive, but you'll probably find the property markets to also be more sane there.

If you think house prices are a joke now, just wait 2-3 years.

I'm actually a structural engineer with a passion for passive houses and went into programming 8 years ago. I designed and built a lot of houses and I know what you're talking about.. the house builders chase profits disregarding any laws.

IMHO the best thing is to buy a lot and build yourself the house, this way you are sure that you get what you want.

No offense but you seem very uneducated in the matter. Being self employed makes it more difficult for OP to get a loan while "good" real estate is reaching almost western european level of prices in Central & Eastern Europe.

Your post reeks of jealousy for OP's net salary but you fail to account for your accumulated wealth over time of you and your family. OP's had not been earning this wage for years while you and your family has.

OP probably uses a lot of his net salary to support his spouse and family while you dont have to do that.

How much does a house cost? Earning that much would get you a down payment on a house within a couple years in many places in the US, for example.