For example, while a record 899,000 square meters of housing were completed in 2021, that figure dropped to 333,000 square meters in 2025. However, this year risks being even worse.
In the first three months of 2026, only 17,000 square meters of housing were commissioned. Projected over the entire year, this amounts to approximately 237,000 square meters—a low not seen in Moldova for a long time.
Chisinau Sets a Record Low for New Housing Completions
Chisinau has seen a particularly sharp decline: last year, more than 200,000 square meters of housing were completed in the capital. In the first quarter of this year, only 5,000 square meters were completed. If this trend continues, the annual figure will be around 117,000 square meters—a historic low.
According to Ionita, the market has faced several problems at once: there are fewer building permits, construction companies have slowed down, and the commissioning of completed projects is increasingly delayed.
The crisis has hit the apartment market the hardest. In the 1980s, about 8,000 apartments were built annually in Moldova. Even in 2021, this figure stood at 6,700. Now the situation looks far more alarming: based on the results of the first quarter of 2026, the annual volume could drop to approximately 1,000 apartments.
Another telling fact: over the past three years, about 4,500 apartments have been completed in the country—fewer than were built in 2023 alone, when nearly 4,900 apartments were completed.
Construction has picked up on the outskirts
Against the backdrop of the downturn, the construction landscape is shifting. For the first time in many years, the regions have surpassed Chisinau in terms of the volume of housing completed. This is a significant shift for a market where, for a decade and a half, the capital accounted for about 70% of all housing floor area built and up to 85% of the value of residential construction.
The industry’s problems are also reflected in investment. In 2025, housing construction accounted for only 1.4% of Moldova’s GDP. By comparison, in Romania this figure reaches 3%, while the EU average is around 5%.
According to Vyacheslav Ionita, without simplifying the procedures for project approval and commissioning of buildings, the supply of new housing will continue to decline, exacerbating the shortage in the market.
