In the first half of 2026, 725 houses were sold in Chișinău and its suburbs, 28.4% fewer than in the same period of the previous year, when 1,012 transactions were recorded.
Although the house market is smaller and less liquid than the apartment market, a house remains an attractive alternative for many families thanks to its larger living space, private yard and greater level of privacy.
Houses sold in Chișinău and its suburbs (Q1 2025 - Q2 2026)
An analysis of the quarterly sales of houses in Chișinău and its suburbs shows that the beginning of 2026 was the weakest period for the house market. In Q1 2026, 322 transactions were completed, compared with 538 transactions in Q1 2025, representing a decline of approximately 40%.
However, in Q2 2026, the number of transactions increased to 403 houses, which was 81 transactions more than in the previous quarter and approximately 25% higher than in Q1 2026.
Although the volume of transactions in Q2 2026 remained approximately 15% lower than in Q2 2025, when 474 transactions were recorded, the increase compared with the beginning of the year can be interpreted as a positive signal, as the market did not continue to decline at the same pace.
Although the house market remains below last year's level, Q2 2026 brought the first signs of stabilization after a relatively weak start to the year.
In the first half of 2026, the market for houses in Chișinău and its suburbs recorded a 28.4% decline, similar to the approximately 26.6% decrease recorded in the apartment market.
One of the most important trends in the housing market is the growing dependence on mortgage financing. In the first half of 2025, 544 houses were purchased through mortgage loans, representing 53.8% of the total 1,012 transactions, while in the first half of 2026, the number of houses purchased with mortgage financing declined to 435, but the share of mortgage-financed transactions increased to 60% of the total 725 transactions.
Houses purchased with mortgage financing in Chișinău and its suburbs (Q1 2025 - Q2 2026)
In practical terms, during the first half of 2026, 6 out of every 10 houses sold in Chișinău and its suburbs were purchased with mortgage financing. This shows that an increasing share of buyers can no longer finance the purchase of a house entirely from their own savings.
According to the 2024 Population and Housing Census, the municipality of Chișinău has 311,077 apartments and 79,213 detached and terraced houses, representing a total housing stock of 390,290 residential properties. The structure of the housing stock is therefore dominated by apartments:
In the first half of 2026, 6,218 transactions were completed across these two segments in Chișinău and its suburbs, including 5,493 apartment transactions and 725 house transactions. When compared with the existing housing stock, the difference becomes even more evident:
Although the apartment stock is only 3.9 times larger than the stock of houses, 7.6 times more apartments than houses were sold in the first half of 2026, showing that the apartment market was almost twice as active relative to the number of existing properties. Houses represent 20.3% of the housing stock but generated only 11.7% of total transactions, while apartments, which represent 79.7% of the stock, accounted for 88.3% of sales.
Apartments have greater liquidity in the real estate market and are bought and resold more frequently as families' needs change and buyers move from smaller homes to larger apartments.
In the long term, the development of metropolitan infrastructure could make houses in the suburbs an increasingly attractive alternative to apartments in the city. If the suburbs benefit from faster connections to Chișinău and better-developed infrastructure, some buyers may choose a 120–150 m² house with land in the suburbs instead of a three-bedroom apartment of 70–80 m² in Chișinău.
In the first half of 2026, the house market in Chișinău and its suburbs recorded 725 transactions, with approximately 60% of them financed through mortgage loans. This shows that interest in houses remains strong, although the segment is still less active and less liquid than the apartment market.
In the long term, the development of infrastructure in the suburbs could make detached houses an increasingly attractive alternative for families looking for more space, a private yard and greater privacy.
View houses for sale in Chișinău and its suburbs.
Author: Victor Cernomorcenco
Realization of the analysis by Victor Cernomorcenco, specialist in real estate in Chisinau and representative of Acces Imobil.
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