Here we are in 2026. According to Monitorul (perhaps our favorite newspaper at the moment), the average resident of Cluj spends over half his salary on rent.
Average advertised rent prices for a flat in the most expensive parts of Cluj
- Gruia (850 euro/month)
- Andrei Mureșanu (750 euro/month)
- Borhanci (724 euro/month)
And the more affordable areas:
- Mănăștur (500 euro/month)
- Dâmbul Rotund (550 euro/month)
- Gheorgheni (550 euro/month)
Note that these are advertised prices. Not all these appartments will be let out, and many renters will negotiate better deals.
The rest of this article was written on January 26, 2023
How much is a toilet worth? If you are in the Cluj government, you are willing to pay over 56 thousand euros for one.
According to jurnalul, Cluj mayor Emil Boc has purchased the second most expensive smart toilets in all of Romania. A single toilet purchased in 2022 cost the council 56,342.90 Euro. Yup, that is euros, not lei. About half the price of Boc’s vacation home.
But those aren’t the most expensive Loos in Cluj. In 2021, toilets from the same firm cost Cluj over 59 thousand Euros each.
Brasov has the record though. That municipality, run by USR’s Allen Coliban, bought 28 loos at 73 thousand Euros each.
Remember, the motto of USR is Romania fără hoți, or Romania without thieves. Whatever party you support, if you pay taxes, you probably hope no thieves steal those toilets.
Cluj and Brasov are also the locations with the two biggest spenders when it comes to fast food delivery. GIGO, Garbage in, garbage out. After you eat all that garbage, you got to let it out.
These toilets were purchased by pubic auction. Apparently, they only received two offers, and went with the best one.
Other auctions in Cluj also have few offers.
In similar news, according to stories in Făclia, Playtech and Hotnews on 23 January, the Cluj housing market may be unsustainable. Homes in Cluj, and guess where else, Brașov, are considered to be overpriced by Romania’s central bank.
A two room apartment costs the average Clujean worker 11 times a yearly salary. In the 20th century, banks would not lend anyone more than 3 times their yearly salary for a mortgage. However, that changed at the turn of the 21st century, when so-called NINJA (No Income Job or Assets) loans in many western countries led to the 2008 global financial crash. (Of course, the mortgage industry blamed in on Greece, but Greece’s economy was nowhere near the size of the US, German and British financial institutions who were behind that insanity. I would recommend reading The Big Short for an American perspective).
Even with two incomes, it is highly unreasonable to ask for 11 years salary to buy a place. Four years salary is considered an affordable* house. At the turn of the century, banks wouldn’t lend you more than three times your annual salary for a Mortgage. So, if a home cost four times your annual income, then they’d expect you to pay a quarter of it from savings or perhaps another family member would contribute to the mortgage. But they’d laugh in your face if you asked for a loan for 11 years worth of your income.
Of course, there have always been luxury homes that are beyond the reach of most people, like the mansions that house the town’s music festival and art museum. It is when the average house is beyond the reach of the average potential homebuyer that it appears that a bubble is forming.
We spoke to one foreigner who claims to have invested in real estate in Cluj. He said that the investment was “like throwing money down the toilet.” However, another said that investing in individual buildings is usually much better than investing in funds. “For some reason, investment funds don’t do well.”
(Note that these are not our opinions but those of amateur investors).
But just because the Bank of Romania says that houses are overpriced does not mean they are about to fall. Another article in Făclia points to the most and least trusted institutions in the country. Few trust the media, but one that is even less trusted than the newspapers which reported the housing prices is the Bank of Romania.
Cluj is known as the treasure city, it has long been the wealthiest town in Transylvania. Long before the IT book, series of developments which have brought wealth to the city, and Cluj has been a key element in many of Romania’s booms and busts over the years.
What do you think? Can the housing prices continue to boom, with a market created to high earning individuals in the IT sector and small business owners? Or, will it go “down the toilet?”