Romania's construction works volume decreased in January by 3.6% y/y, a negative performance that comes after double-digit growth rates last year.

January is typically a slow month for the construction sector, but this year one can't blame the weather, which was fine, for the disappointing performance.

The volume of civil engineering works rose by 17% y/y, and it is already (in seasonally adjusted terms) nearly 12% above the pre-crisis level in February 2020.

Overall, the construction works index is just under the pre-crisis level (-0.1%), but this is thanks to the government's projects.

The residential segment's works lag nearly 16% behind the pre-crisis level, and those in the non-residential segment by nearly 23%. However, the non-residential sector thrived last year amid the robust outlook for the industrial and logistic segment and the poor performance in January is an exception.

Meanwhile, the residential segment has been growing selectively in first-tier cities and particularly in Bucharest while failing to grow at a national level as it had already recovered earlier and reached saturation. 

Some 24,000 new housing units are in the pipeline for delivery in Bucharest, and 18,000-20,000 of them will be ready in 2021, local real estate agency SVN estimates. The figure is close to the 20,733 units delivered last year.

Bucharest, including its outskirts, concentrated a third of the new housing units delivered in Romania last year, after an impressive 40% rise compared to 2019.