Sofia Echo - Latest news Aug 14 2009

Latest statistics on the Bulgarian real estate market, quoted on the website of PropertyWire, show that the number of properties sold in Bulgaria fell sharply in the first half of the year and that the volume of new real estate being built is also declining.

Real estate transactions apparently fell by 35 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2009, according to data from the Registry Agency. The fall affected the whole country but was apparently particularly marked in Sofia, Varna and Samokov region, including upscale winter resort Borovets, where transactions fell by 50 per cent. The report blamed lagging investment activity and the global financial downturn.

Raiffeisen Real Estate's latest report shows that property sales are down on average by 42 per cent with Sofia transactions down 58 per cent. Formerly popular Black Sea holiday destinations such as Sunny Beach were also hit hard by the downturn.

Ani Angelova, manager of Raiffeisen Imoti and executive manager of Raiffeisen Bank, reported that the fall became marked towards the end of 2008.

"
Potential customers at all real estate sectors are waiting, with the only active on the market currently being those with riskier profile, or who are ready to gamble with the prospect of improving their capitalisation for the future,"
she explained.

The National Association of Municipalities said that based on contributions to municipal budgets, property deals across the country had halved. Roumen Rashev, mayor of Veliko Tarnovo, said receipts had slumped by more than two thirds.

Figures from Sofia municipality show that deals in the first six months of 2009 fetched only 30 million leva, compared to 59 million leva in the same period last year.

The economic downturn is also affecting the number of owners unable to meet monthly payments. Figures show that foreclosures increased by 36.6 per cent year on year and new mortgages shrank almost threefold.

From personal recent experience, enquiries and sales basically stopped from late 2008 through till around June 2009, however last couple of months have seen a slight rise in enquiries and number of British still coming over to consider relocating to Bulgaria. Seems mainly in the rural sector, inland and for cheaper houses (maybe 10,000 E or under)

I have to agree with you there I think that most buyers at the moment seem to think they can buy a house for peanuts and spend a few more peanuts on it and then they will have their dream house, but the reality is that I don't believe that many allow enough funds for renovation and end up getting a very cheap and nasty job done to their homes. :roll: