Chișinău City Guide

Chișinău is the capital and largest city of Moldova and the undisputed centre of the country's economy, government, and property market, home to the great majority of national commercial activity within the Chișinău Municipality. As Moldova advances its EU-candidate path, the capital has seen sharp price appreciation: apartment values reached a record of about €1,720 (≈US$1,860) per square metre by end-March 2025, up 11.7% from end-2024, before largely plateauing through the rest of the year. Newer 'white-shell' apartments trade above €1,400/m² while older Soviet-era stock sits nearer €970/m². The standout feature for investors is yield, Moldova's gross rental yield averaged about 8.65% in Q3 2025, among the highest in Europe, driven by strong rental demand from internal migration to the capital, diaspora investment, and a structural housing shortage where demand is estimated to outstrip supply by 20–30%. Rents grew 25–30% in 2024. The risks are significant, however: transaction volumes fell about 37% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025 as effective demand softened, and Moldova's proximity to the war in Ukraine, its small economy, and political uncertainty all weigh on the outlook.