Quality or quantity? What kind of apartments are we building in Chisinau?

At that time, estimates showed that the market would need approximately 30,000 more apartments, given an average price of approximately 1,300-1,500 euros/m², a level then considered relatively affordable for a significant part of buyers.

Today, however, the situation is starting to look different. If currently approximately 40,000 apartments are already in various stages of construction, a natural question arises: don't we risk building more than the market can absorb?

The problem is not only how many apartments we build, but also how we build them. In the rush to build more and more blocks of flats, there is a risk of obtaining housing of lower quality and less comfortable for people. In the long term, such projects can generate additional problems for the city: traffic jams, lack of green spaces, overburdened infrastructure and an increasingly difficult to manage public transport system.

We need quality, comfortable and affordable housing

A few years ago, the discussion was simple: there is demand, the population needs housing and more apartments need to be built. Today, however, the situation has changed. Prices have increased significantly, and purchasing power has not evolved at the same pace.

The important question is no longer just how many apartments we build, but whether we build homes that people can afford and want to live in. Because there is a big difference between theoretical demand and real demand - you can have thousands of people who want a home, but if it is not financially accessible or does not offer comfort and quality of life, the demand remains just a statistic, not a real transaction.

The development of the city of Chisinau should not be measured by the number of floors or the number of apartments built in a housing complex.

Instead of focusing exclusively on building as many apartments as possible, we should focus on developing a city based on the “15-minute city” concept, where housing not only offers square meters, but also quick access to infrastructure, services and a better quality of life.

This would mean:

• 5-7-9-story blocks of flats;
• green spaces;
• functional courtyards;
• sufficient parking spaces;
• well-thought-out pedestrian and road infrastructure;
• social and economic infrastructure;
• real communities, not urban “slums”.

The emphasis must be shifted from quantity to quality

In the coming years, the focus should not be only on building new blocks of flats. There are other directions that can have a much greater impact on the quality of life:

• Rehabilitation of the old housing stock – many existing buildings need modernization and energy efficiency.
• Developing infrastructure in the suburbs – roads, transport, schools and kindergartens that would allow the development of individual housing.
• Creating a social housing fund – apartments offered for rent at affordable costs, which could reduce the pressure on both the rental market and sales prices.

Conclusion

The real estate market in Chisinau is at an important turning point.

In the coming years, the question will no longer be: “How many more apartments do we build?” The more important question will be: “What kind of city do we want to build?”

Because developing a healthy market does not just mean more blocks of flats. It means better homes, better infrastructure and communities where people want to live.

Author: 

Victor Cernomorcenco, Real Estate Specialist at Acces Imobil.

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