[size=75:1l6vg1ao]novinite 5 March 2010

Bulgaria Newly Built Flats Down by 6% End-2009

Newly-built residential buildings in Bulgaria have decreased by 1,7% in the last quarter of 2009, while the number of apartments in them shrank by 6%, data from the statistics office show.

Bulgaria saw the construction of nearly 1000 new buildings in the period October-December, including 6404 flats, which is up by a whopping 40% in comparison with the previous quarter.

The towns that boast the biggest number of new flats are the coastal Varna (1325), Burgas (865) and the second-biggest town of Plovdiv (448). The capital Sofia saw the construction of 69 buildings and 261 apartments during the same period.

The last quarter of 2009 continued the trend of a reduction in the floorage of the apartments, totaling 486 square meters, down by 9,3% over the last quarter of 2008.

On the top of the chart are the towns of Gabrovo (132,6 square meters) and Haskovo (114,5 square meters), while at the opposite end are Razgrad and Pernik (under 60 square meters).