[size=85:2xarvaqt]novinite 08 July 2010

Lack of Clarity, Zeal Reigned Bulgaria's Property Market in Q1

The recovery of the real estate market in Bulgaria will not be as steady as initially expected, local brokers say, judging by the mixed signals that the market sent in the first quarter.

“The fall in prices is no news anymore, but this proved insufficient to calm down the market. Lack of clarity and determination is the only clear trend in the first quarter,” Sofia-based real estate company Address said in a survey released on Thursday.

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, the report says.

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”.

The average price of apartments sold in Sofia in the first quarter ranged between EUR 470 -1062 per square meter, 11.46% up from the previous quarter.

Rents in Sofia measured an average EUR 250per month for a two-bedroom apartment in the first quarter of 2010.