According to the market analysis reports, in 2011, the property prices in the Bulgaria real estate market dropped by an average of 8% as against the drop of 8.3% in 2010. With this report, it was concluded that the decrease of the prices of real estate in Bulgaria is slowly decelerating. Therefore, the concerned agencies are in a hope that this trend will stop in 2012.
According to the survey of real estate agency Bulgarian Properties, this decrease in prices of the Bulgarian real estate for sale has attracted an increasing number of settled deals in the nation. The statistics reveal that this rise is almost of 15% considering the prices of 2010 as the base. In 2011, the paid average price for a one bedroom apartment in any of the big cities ranged from 20,000 to 60,000 Euro.
This Bulgaria real estate agency also surprisingly noticed that only the properties in the beach resort of Sveti Vlas have sustained relatively high prices despite the falling trend. To buy Bulgaria real estate in this area before three years, one had to pay even less than 1,000 euro per sq. m., but today, the prices are even higher than those in Varna and Sofia. According to the Chief Operations Manager of Bulgarian Properties, Polina Stoykova; Sveti Vlas has now become an exception as a resort with stable real estate prices.
She further commented that 2011 was not that good year for ski resort holiday homes, especially for those in Bansko, as the apartment prices since 2010 fell by 25%, which was significant. In 2011, the average price of the apartments sold in this area was 35,000 Euro, which was lower than the price of 42,800 Euro in 2010. Even the number of deals has decreased in 2011 for this area. She highlighted that prices for property in Borovets have held up much better due to the lack of development in the area and as a result a shortage of suitable properties for sale.
Polina also discussed about the rural Bulgaria real estate. She said that following stabilization in the interest for rustic options as well as a hike in the deals in 2010, the price levels were almost similar in 2011 with a minor fall in the number of sales. This was because the buyers were more interested in costly houses that were fully furbished to live in. As a result, there was a hike in the average prices of settled deals in most areas in 2011, particularly in the regions of Veliko Tarnovo and Varna. Cheap Bulgarian Properties in rural villages are no longer as popular as they were. This is due to the high cost of renovating and maintaining such properties. It is often cheaper in the long run to buy a newly completed property.
However, on the other hand, the prices of rural Bulgaria real estate in the areas of Stara Zagora and Bourgas have almost been identical to those in 2010. But in a few areas such as Yambol, Plovdiv, Pleven, and Kardzhali, the prices have dropped. This indicates that the interest in the rural properties of Northwestern Bulgaria is not that high. According to the Forton international, with 200 million Euro as the total volume, the nation has become one of the Europe’s Top 10 destinations for investment in 2011. Even the research shows that the investment deals in the continent increased by 7.8% in 2011. So, a wave of optimism has stated to show its effects on Bulgarian real estate prices.
Since the start of 2012 EU citizens have been able to purchase land and properties in Bulgaria without the need to setup a company. This has made the whole process for buying real estate in Bulgaria much easier and it is hoped that this will also increase the demand and sales.