OREANDA-NEWS. August 12, 2009. Expectations that the Chisinau’s commercial real estate market will suffer gravely from the economic and political situation in the country has therefore realized.

It is emphasized that commercial real estate’s owners practically can’t sell their office, trade and storage facilities at the planned (before-the-crisis) prices. It is very difficult to sell real estate in the current situation in the market even taking into consideration the reduction in the commercial real estate’s cost by 30-50 per cent. Experts say transactions are carried out rarely even when intentions arise, and if a transaction takes place, the cost is quite low.

Experts say the same situation is observed in the renting market. Only unique objects at the attractive rates may be an exclusion. The renting rates have been decreasing over the last six months. The reduction has amounted to 25-40 per cent in comparison with the rates in 2008 and the situation hasn’t stabilized yet. Experts state it has become a serious problem for real estate’s owners to find and keep a tenant.

The crisis that made reduce expenses “for future’s sake” in fall and early winter, has struck many companies’ business really. They say the transfer of the supply from the sale market to the renting market is a new tendency. Many real estate owners having realized the lack of prospects of the fast sale of their real estate at the adequate price, switched into the renting business.

There are owners who would put up the areas to the market hoping to find other tenants ready to pay higher prices after current tenants had tried to reduce the rates, however, when the searches had no success, owners preferred to compromise. Most owners more often meet real estate tenants half-way, relieving contracts’ terms and cutting the renting rates thus reducing the risks of being left with empty spaces.