[size=55:3h2y7wwd]novinite 23 July 2010

Fall in Bulgaria Residential Property Prices Slows Down in Q2

he average asking sales prices for residential property in Bulgaria continued to fall, though slightly, in the second quarter of 2010, official data shows.

Residential property recorded a negligible, average decrease of 0.8% for second quarter of the year after falling by 2.3% during the previous quarter, data of the statistics office shows.

The year-on-year comparison shows an average decrease of 9.7%. Prices fell by 7.8% on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2010.

More significant price reductions have been registered in 13 regional centers with the biggest slumps in Gabrovo - 8.3%, Shumen – 7.8% and Vratsa – 6.9%. In Sofia residential prices remained unchanged.

The average market price of residential properties in Bulgaria is BGN 971.20 per square meter – the prices are the highest in the Black Sea capital Varna – BGN 1593.97 per square meter, followed by Sofia with BGN 1558.33 and Burgas with BGN 1231.33.

Local brokers have recently commented that the recovery of the real estate market in Bulgaria will not be as steady as initially expected, judging by the mixed signals that the market sent in the first quarter.

With the onset of the crisis, the activity on the market, which reached its peak in September 2007, dried up and many of the projects ended up frozen.

Buyers are unwilling to buy residential buildings, whose construction is not completed yet, which gives an advantage to the apartments on the so-called “second-hand market”.