Choosing a home is not about square metres and price per square metre. Adrian Ciocoiu, CEO of VIB Real Estate and imo360, explains why the most useful exercise before buying is to picture an ordinary day in that neighbourhood — not the Sunday-morning visit, but Monday at 8 a.m.

You don't buy an apartment, you buy a routine

“You are not just buying an apartment, you are buying what every day spent there will look like,” says Adrian Ciocoiu. The useful questions are concrete: how long is the commute on a Monday, where do you have coffee on Saturday morning, where do you run or where do the children play, how safe is the walk home in the evening.

That is the difference between a property that shows well at a viewing and one where life actually works once you move in.

Neighbourhoods for each stage of life

There is no good neighbourhood in the abstract — only one that fits where you are right now:

• First home: Popești-Leordeni and Theodor Pallady — young, developing areas with accessible prices and infrastructure that is filling in fast.
• Couples without children: Tineretului, Unirii or Aviației — a balance of affordability, city life and commuting time.
• Families with children: Drumul Taberei, Titan, Băneasa, Sisești or Bucureștii Noi — parks, schools and settled communities.

For three- and four-room apartments the decisive criterion changes. “For three- or four-room apartments, proximity to schools and kindergartens is one of the most important selection criteria,” Ciocoiu notes. Families look for predictability, not spectacle.

What has changed in buyers' priorities

For years the decision came down to two things: price and distance from work. Today buyers look for a balance across several factors.

Quality of life means less time in traffic and more time with your family.

Accessible green space, public transport, schools and nearby services have become arguments with real weight in the decision, not secondary details.

What to check before you sign

First impressions at a viewing are the weakest basis for a decision. Worth verifying:

• Monthly maintenance costs, not just the purchase price.
• Parking — what is actually available, not what is promised.
• Traffic at peak hours, on weekdays.
• Build quality and year of construction.
• What the neighbours say — the most useful information comes from people already living there.

The real cost of a home includes maintenance, administration fees, parking, commuting time and access to services. All of it is paid monthly, for years.

Areas to watch for investment

For those treating the purchase partly as an investment, Ciocoiu recommends monitoring Theodor Pallady, Sisești–Străulești and Expoziției, where infrastructure is developing rapidly.

Women buy differently — and, increasingly, alone

Women focus on the practical: natural light, layout, how safe the area is, proximity to schools and services, and the family's longer-term needs. Men concentrate more on technical details.

One notable shift: more and more women buy on their own, after careful research, seeing a home as both a place to live and an investment in their own independence.

The most common mistakes

• Choosing on price alone.
• Visiting the neighbourhood only at the weekend, when traffic and noise are not representative.
• Deciding emotionally, without comparing against the market.

Advice for a first purchase

Set three or four essential criteria you will not compromise on, and stay flexible about everything that can be improved later. Look at the purchase over a five-to-ten-year horizon, not as a decision for this year.

What “home” actually means

Ciocoiu defines it simply: the place where your routine works naturally, where you feel safe, where children thrive, and from which you don't feel the need to escape every weekend in order to relax.

That is when the apartment becomes simply the backdrop to a life you enjoy.

Interview given by Adrian Ciocoiu, CEO of VIB Real Estate and imo360, to Garbo (7 August 2026).

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