Moldova's land market remains underdeveloped, experts say

Chisinau, 4 November /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova's land market is under-developed, although we have the largest areas of tillable lands per capita and the price of land is lower than in the European Union countries, according to an analysis carried out by the firm Siascon Grup. 

Experts said that a major factor influencing the price of farmlands was the fact that foreigners have no right to buy lands in Moldova. Should this be allowed, "the prices would have been completely different from the present ones." At the same time, most lands that were consolidated have been sold, and the free lands have an area of several hectares; hence, potential investors have no possibility to purchase the area they need in order to develop large projects. 

The agricultural lands from central Moldova are the dearest, with an average bid price for one hectare of tillable land standing at 8,400 euros. The prices range from 2,400 to 2,500 euros on average in northern and southern Moldova. Experts warn that "not all the lands are sold at such prices, and the sum may drastically drop, depending on the quality of soil, irrigation sources and other factors which influence its value."  

The value assessed for a plot of land is influenced by a lot of factors, such as: the land's area, its state, reliability, quality of soil, possibility of irrigation and, certainly, its placement. Just as in case of other types of real estate, the placement plays one of the main roles in assessing the value of the land.

Although the prices reach 17,000 euros for one hectare in central Moldova, they are much lower than in the Chisinau municipality, where the average price is 45,000 euros. The price bid may reach even 75,000 euros. 

Experts say that the bid price differs from the real price of the transaction, depending on the conditions of the transaction and buyer's ability to negotiate the price. 

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor L. Alcaza)