By Anna Grybel, Property Secrets

Mortgage lending in Romania is still in its infancy and the mortgage debt to GDP ratio was only 2.3% in 2006 - still very low if compared to the EU-15 average of 50%.

That means that this sector has a lot of room to grow and in fact it is expanding fast. In 2006 (the latest figures available), mortgage lending grew by 57%.

The industry, which is only seven years old in Romania, has great potential for further development and improvements. We've seen the market becoming more competitive in the last two years; in particular, offering more better terms and conditions both to local and foreign borrowers.

Here's a briefing on the latest improvements.