Former PAS deputy Olesea Stamate warns that Moldova’s new cap on cash real estate purchases is already hurting the housing market. In a Facebook post, she shared data for Q3 2025, showing a sharp 70% drop in apartment transactions compared with the same period last year — only 1,275 deals, down from over 4,000 in Q3 2024.
At the same time, mortgage lending soared, with 1,790 contracts signed in the third quarter, nearly three times more than last year’s 588.
“Banks win. People lose,” Stamate said, noting that Moldovan banks continue to report record profits since the pandemic. Unlike several European countries, Moldova has not imposed extra taxes on bank super-profits, she added.
“We borrow even when we have no way to pay back. But we must not disturb those who keep earning more. Or do they have some special protection?” Stamate wrote.
Cadastral data confirms the trend: while overall real estate sales plummeted by 70%, the mortgage segment tripled, signaling that fewer properties are sold with cash and buyers increasingly rely on bank financing.