Bulgaria beating the crunch?

New figures reveal even more good news for prospective Bulgaria investors…

Data of the National Statistical Institute shows that residential property prices in Bulgaria have increase by almost 7% percent since the beginning of the year. The average price across the country reached EUR 1300/m2 in the period January - March 2008.

Lachezar Bogdanov from Industry Watch commented: “The most expensive properties are those in the capital city of Sofia as their prices are expected to continue their upward march and their annual growth by the end of the year is forecast to range between 10% and 20%.

”The growth in prices can be attributed to the brisk demand by well-off people and insufficient supply. Investors' interest is high in developments in the big cities, particularly in the capital Sofia and the Black Sea town of Varna, which register the highest residential property prices”.

Growth will continue

Dan Johnson, Managing Director of TheMoveChannel.com, added: "There is a clear tendency among new EU entrants for the jobs and wealth of the country to be concentrated in the capital city. This phenomenon is definitely occuring in Bulgaria, where a large proportion of the economic output for the country is generated.

"Although much of the international property development has focused on the ski areas and the resorts along the Black Sea Coast, these areas are a little more speculative than Sofia, which  is where the majority of the smart money has been invested.

"In terms of average prices, Sofia still has some way to go to catch up with Western European cities, but as the general level of wages continues to rise, expect the price growth to continue".