Bulgaria property has "most successful year since crisis"

Sunny times ahead for Bulgaria? Photo credit: JürgenBOT

A new report from Bulgarian Properties says that confidence is back in Bulgaria, as prices showed signs of rising through the year.

Indeed, according to data from the National Statistics Institute, property prices climbed 1.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2014, once adjusted for inflation, the third increase recorded last year.

Real estate prices are now at the same level as 10 years ago, says the site, which is helping to attract buyers.

Indeed, Bulgaria rebounded in popularity on TheMoveChannel.com in 2014, ranking inside the top 10 most in-demand countries in December 2014 for the second month in a row.

"An important element of the new market reality is the return of the confidence in the property market. More and more buyers are thinking of buying property because real estate is a safe real asset and good investment," comments the report, which also highlights improving mortgage conditions from the bank.

"We can say that 2014 was the most successful year for the real estate market in Bulgaria since the beginning of the crisis," says Polina Stoykova, Managing Director and Head of Research. "Of course, we are not overoptimistic because there are some negative trends as the outflow of the Russian buyers and the still lower volume of property sales compared to the pre-crisis years."

Indeed, the Russia-Ukraine situation, combined with the country's plummeting rouble, has impacted a range of overseas property markets, including Cyprus.

However, Stoykova says it is "clear and obvious that the buyers have permanently returned" to Bulgaria. Sales were driven primarily by sea and ski resorts, with domestic buyers forecast to be particularly active in 2015. Nonetheless, British buyers have returned the country, highlights the report, a trend that is also predicted to continue, with foreign interest largely aimed at apartments in large cities and the most popular resorts.

"In 2015 the trend of recovery will continue as the demand for properties in the major cities will continue to grow, and the supply will become increasingly limited due to the low levels of new construction," says Stoykova.

"A lot of Bulgarians will decide to buy property by the sea and in the ski resorts - this trend started last year and we see that the interest is sustained, and the prices are very attractive. We expect that next year the real estate market will be driven largely by the Bulgarian buyers including the segments that were traditionally dominated by the foreign buyers."