It is possible to purchase a plot for construction in the capital by participating in open auctions held by the City Hall and the Public Property Agency, as well as on the free market.
The results of the auction held in early August brought 43 million lei to the municipal budget. According to Eduard Gorenstein, commercial director of the real estate agency Capitalimobil (the organizer of the auction), the auction was successful, but the prices surprised even specialists. For small plots for the construction of individual houses they are, in principle, normal (20-25 thousand euros per sotka). But for two large plots (11 and 12 acres, both in the Cokan sector, one on Marija Dragan Street, the other in the area of the former computer factory), the prices reached 54-55 thousand euros per acre, which is clearly too much for this part of the city. Both of them have the code C-7, which, according to the Urban Planning Regulations, allows the location of wholesale trade facilities.
Radu Shitov, director of Euroimobil agency, also believes that the price of land for Marija Dragan str. Marija Dragan the land price was overpriced. “This is a former industrial zone, industrial enterprises remained there, and the whole infrastructure was designed to serve them. Today it is a depressive area, it is not interesting for development,” he says.
According to Eduard Gorenstein, the situation on the free market of plots for construction is also difficult to explain. Prices are extremely high. In the city center, the price of one sotka has long exceeded 100 thousand euros. In the central part of the main neighborhoods (Ryshkanivka, Botanika) they ask for 60-70 thousand euros per sotka. But often the prices are driven up by realtors themselves. In the ads one and the same plot of land one company sells for 30 thousand euros per hundred, the other for the same asks 50 thousand euros. For the plot, which in 2021 was sold at a price of 20 thousand euros per sotka, in 2025 they ask already 70 thousand euros.
“Even in Europe there are no such prices,” says Gorenstein. – It is also striking that in the suburbs prices have doubled. If previously a plot of land could be purchased at the price of 10-12 thousand euros per hundred square meters, today they cost 20-25 thousand euros. Buyers because of the unaffordable prices in the city reoriented to the suburbs. There is a lot of land in private hands, but the owners immediately raised prices.
Additional sales by the mayor’s office could calm down the market, as there is still enough free land in Chisinau for commercial and residential buildings, including multi-storey ones. But the last auction was in December 2024. The problem rests with the municipal council, which approves the lists of plots to be auctioned. PBC meetings are either canceled or certain factions simply block any proposals. Their confrontation with the general mayor deprives the city of additional financial resources for development. Over the last 4 years, land auctions have brought almost 8 million lei to the city budget, and this was a significant support.
The price for a plot of land for housing construction depends primarily on the location, availability of infrastructure, transportation accessibility and proximity of social facilities.
“Taking into account these conditions, one cannot find a plot below 100 thousand euros per sotka in Chisinau. At one of the auctions of the State Property Agency, the plot (with the structure of the former factory “Vibropribor”) was sold for almost 120 thousand euros per hectare,” says Radu Shitov. – On Botanica, a plot of 19 hectares was sold for 2.2 million lei (116,000 euros per hectare), while at the beginning of the year the asking price was 1.5 million euros. And this is a relatively small plot”.
In his opinion, in order to build a three-unit house of 10-12 floors with a courtyard and parking lots, one needs at least 30-35 hectares. Therefore, the larger the plot, the more expensive it is per hundredth. Because on such a territory there is more opportunity to realize your ideas. And the main thing – to fit into the requirements of regulations on the density of development of the territory, insolation, the number of parking lots, etc. That’s why plot size matters to builders.
“In order to start construction outside Chisinau, it is not enough to find a suitable plot. It is necessary to carry out communications – sewerage, water supply, electricity. Their costs are comparable to the costs of buying the plot itself,” says Radu Shitov. – But the demand for land will still remain, and those who have money today will benefit. Because the construction process cannot be stopped, otherwise there is a risk of losing workers, equipment downtime, etc.”.
According to the statistical data presented in the cadastre, the sales of land plots in comparison with last year in Chisinau municipality in the 1st quarter of 2025 decreased by 4.3% compared to the same quarter of 2024 (1344 and 1404 sales transactions respectively). In Q2 2025, only 5 transactions were registered, which, according to experts, is hardly true. It is rather a failure in the program. Therefore, it is not possible to compare the data with the 2nd quarter of 2024.
