Bulgaria battling on in 2008

Property prices in Bulgaria are expected to grow by an average 15% in 2008, according to the Address Real Estate...

Katya Tsenkova, of Address, commented: “The turmoil in the real estate market during 2007 will start to fade and the prices of the properties will grow by regular basis. Residential property in the suburbs will gain popularity while the prices of the block of flats will grow with slower pace.

Prices for residential real estate in Bulgaria grew by an average 18.6% in 2007. The average price paid for residential properties across Bulgaria stood at EUR 737/m2 in 2007 compared to EUR 624/m2 in 2006.

Capital Sofia, which boasts the highest salaries in the country, continues to benefit from the real estate boom and recorded the highest rise in prices last year - 25%, reaching an average price of EUR 835/m2.

The port city of Varna retained its lead in the price ranking and commanded the highest residential property prices - BGN 852/m2, a 19% increase over the previous year.

The property market of the second-biggest town of Plovdiv is the third-biggest price riser, recording an increase of 14% in residential prices year-on-year, followed by the costal port of Burgas (11%) and the northern town of Veliko Tarnovo (9%).