[size=85:24ko4fjx]novinite

Bulgaria Registered 10% Drop of Housing Price in 2010 Y/Y

Prices for housing in Bulgaria dropped by 10.1% in 2010, in comparison to the previous year, according to data from the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute (NSI).

The data revealed that the average price per square meter was BGN 964 in 2010. The most expensive were the housings in Sofia – BGN 1,569 per square meter, while the cheapest ones were in the city of Kyustendil – BGN 567 per square meter.

The biggest drop of prices for residential properties was registered in the regions of Varna and Burgas – about 20%. In Sofia, the average drop of prices in 2010 was of 9.7%.

An increase in the prices for residential properties was registered in four Bulgarian districts. The biggest growth by 15.5% was registered in housings in the Sofia district, followed by Silistra with 5.2%.

A minimal growth was also registered in 2010 in housings in Kardzhali (2.6%) and Kyustendil (0.1%).

The drop in the prices was 1.5% in the last quarter of 2010, compared to the third one. In 2009, the drop in the prices was 5.6% in the last quarter of the year, according to NSI.

A decrease in the residential properties prices was registered in 19 regional cities in the last quarter of 2010, the biggest ones being in the city of Vidin (5.5%), Gabrovo (5.3%) and Pernik (5%).

The other nine districts saw a minimal increase of prices (less than 1%) in the same period of the year.

The average market price of housing in Bulgaria in the fourth quarter of 2010 was BGN 945 per square meter.

The highest average market prices were registered in Sofia – BGN 1,566 per square meter, followed by Varna – BGN 1,531 per square meter, and Burgas – BGN 1,142 per square meter.

Don't think we will be making any profit on our houses for a while yet - Keep plodding on

Oddy

From Novinite

Bulgaria's Residential Property Prices Down 33% in 2 Years

The number of building permits and new buildings in Bulgaria has been falling steadily over the economic crisis.
The average price of residential properties in Bulgaria is down by over 33% compared to the market peak in 2008, data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) and the Registry Agency shows.

The number of real estate transactions in 2010 compared to 2007 is down two times;
building permits and new buildings are down as well, while the number of default loans is up.

The average price per square meter in 2010 has been BNG 964 with properties being the most expensive in Sofia (BGN 1596) and the cheapest in the western city of Kyustendil (BGN 567).

Another consequence from the crisis is higher number of listings for older properties than for new construction in 2010. Homeowners have been forced to sell their properties over reduced income, unemployment, and obligations to banks. The number of foreclosed properties is also up.

Real estate brokers expect a more dynamic market in 2011 with stable prices which would slightly go up (up to 5% for certain market segments and areas).

From Novinite

Bulgarian property market plummeted in past two years - official statistics

Bulgaria's property market saw a nearly twofold decline in real estate sales compared with the record-high number of deals registered in 2007, according to National Statistical Institute (NSI) and Registry Agency statistics.

During the period, property prices lost a third of their peak value in 2007 and fewer building permits were issued. According to local real estate brokers, the trend is likely to persist throughout the first half of 2011.

The number of property deals in the country, including sales of land, residential real estate and buildings, has close to halved in the past four years, with deals in Sofia, Varna and Bourgas dropping between five per cent and nine per cent against 2009, according to Registry Agency data.

The decline in sales was accompanied by a decrease in property prices, which were about 33 per cent lower than in 2008, according to NSI. The average price of real estate in 2010 was 964 leva a sq m in 2010, with Bulgaria's capital city Sofia emerging as the most expensive city with 1 569 leva a sq m. The lowest property prices were registered in the town of Kyustendil, or 567 leva a sq m.

On average, real estate costs decreased by 10 per cent in 2010, in line with projections made by major real estate agencies such as Address Foros and Colliers, which predicted that prices would stabilise in the middle of 2010, producing a gradual rise in sales.

Property deals in the third quarter of 2010 rose by 1300 against the same period of 2009, but the number of real estate transactions in the October-December period was 6000 less than a year ago.

According to figures of the statistical office for the first nine months of 2010, the country's construction sector continued to deteriorate as reflected by the lower number of building permits and the 50 per cent decline in the total built-up area. Furthermore, the number of buildings put into operation in the nine-month period went down by 18 per cent on an annual basis.

From Novinite

Bulgarian rural property prices return to 2004 levels

Rural property prices were among the hardest hit by the global economic crunch and have accounted for a continuous decline, plummeting to 2004 levels. Perhaps as a consequence, for the first time since the crunch, there has been some activity on the market. Amid the perpetually declining prices, properties deals actually staged an increase of about 49 per cent in 2010 compared to 2009, Investor.bg reported.

In 2010 alone, rural property prices declined by about 19 per cent, reaching 2004 levels, according to the report. The average price of properties sold through the agency last year was 11 600 euro, or just 300 euro more than their average six years ago, at 11 300.

The steepest decline was accounted for in 2009, when rural property declined by as much as 50 per cent in the space of 12 months from the previous year, Investor said. Among the hardest hit regions was Pleven, in the north of Bulgaria, when prices reached "
extremely low levels"
and are now among the country's cheapest.

The drastic decline in value, however, was bound to be arrested at some point and eventually buyers started returning to the market. In 2010, especially during the first half of the year, growth in interest was nearly 50 per cent up on the previousyear.

Property values have now increased in some regions, the largest being reported in the area around Bourgas.

Currently, the average property in villages around Sofia goes for about 16 300 euro. This is 15 per cent less than the previous year. Varna and Dobrich are at 13 600 euro, or eight per cent less than in 2009.

Bourgas and Plovdiv, however, mark a growth, up to 26 400 and 18 000 euro, or 34 and 11 per cent respectively.

Rural property around Veliko Turnovo sells for 11 200 euro or three per cent less than 2009 levels, while Pleven, at 7800 euro, has marked a dramatic increase of 60 per cent, but still has some of the cheapest property in the country.

coriolanus wrote:

Bulgaria's Residential Property Prices Down 33% in 2 Years

The number of building permits and new buildings in Bulgaria has been falling steadily over the economic crisis.
The average price of residential properties in Bulgaria is down by over 33% compared to the market peak in 2008, data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) and the Registry Agency shows.

Real estate brokers expect a more dynamic market in 2011 with stable prices which would slightly go up (up to 5% for certain market segments and areas).

Price reduction is the same in Turkey, our property was at least 33% more two years ago.

[size=55:2b5zoi38]novinite

Real estate market recovery slowed down

Can you sell an apartment in no more than 2 minutes? Yes, you can, but in Paris. An dwelling of 80 m2 has been sold exactly for a couple of minutes for the price of EUR 620,000. Bulgarian real estate agencies may only dream of such a market, as many offers spend more than a year in the brokers’ computers. The prices in Bulgaria dropped by 30% in 2009 and brokers hoped that the crisis would end in 2010 and the market would wake up. However, that didn’t happen. The real estate prices continued to go down as official statistics marked a 6 percent drop in 2010. Agencies talk about a market recovery, but this is obviously postponed for the next year. What are the reasons? Several additional factors affect the market, besides the crisis and shrunk consumption. One of those is the re-sale of property bought by English or Irish citizens with the purposes of renting or sale for profit. Offering on the market of estates of bank debtors is another factor. Moreover, bad credits reached 16 percent. The market strongly depends on the credits’ interests too, as well as on the migration processes of people from villages to big cities.

Bulgaria is among those 13 EU countries, where the prices of apartments continue to go down, research data of the Knight Frank international company shows. Prices of real estate increase in 33 out of 48 countries worldwide, data reads. Bulgaria is ranked 42nd with its 6 percent drop as the global trend is for a growth of 3 percent. Hotels and restaurants turned out to be most affected by the crisis. A new business hotel in the capital Sofia is sold for USD 12 mln. on the international market. A luxury complex with resting residences and spa is worth USD 2.7 mln., while a shiny villa in a modern sea resort is offered for a bit over a million. One can buy a restaurant of 150 m2 down town Sofia for USD 315,000.

Unlike other markets, the one for arable land starts to awaken. Not only the funding provided attracts attention, but also the variety of offered lands that are suitable for the growing of some 140 kinds of crops. Data, provided by the Bulgarian Association of Agricultural Land Owners showed that the average price of farmland in 2010 was EUR 1,550 per ha.

What happens to the resorts after the construction boom and the sudden withdrawal of buyers. People from Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Ukraine and France may save the sector. Lithuanians and Estonians can also be included in that group. The neighbouring Romanians also turned out to be active buyers through the last couple of years. These form the major buying group at the seaside resorts, along with the traditional Russians and Englishmen. The two-year decline of prices made these resorts so cheap and accessible that the interest shown by more than 20 countries shouldn’t surprise us. Apartments along the Bulgarian Black sea coastline are sold nowadays for EUR 400-1,600 per m2. However, the interest of the British investors faded during the crisis. The trend turned and they are selling now. On the other hand, Russians remain faithful to the Bulgarian real estate market. According to Russian informational sources, Bulgaria is No 1, as far as the preferences of these buyers are concerned.

We’ve come to the luxurious real estate market. The list of 10 most expensive houses in Sofia is topped by one, situated down town, built up back in 1932 on 800 m2 and offered for sale at a price of EUR 3 mln. A house with a wineries, fitness hall and sauna can be bought for EUR 2 mln. Top 10 ends with a luxurious apartment in the prestigious Lozenets neighbourhood, offered for EUR 714,000.

Housing property prices in Sofia fall 10.6% Y/Y in Q4 2010

byDnevnik.bg

Residential property prices in Bulgaria's capital Sofia declined 10.6 per cent on average in the last three months of 2010 compared with the same period a year earlier and by 1.3 per cent against the previous quarter, Raiffeisen Real Estate said.

Housing property prices in Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv registered an annual drop of 4.9 per cent, while prices in Varna, on the Black Sea coast, decreased 13.4 per cent.

On a quarterly basis, housing prices in Plovdiv and Varna marked modest rises of 2.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

Novinite

Sofia's Residential Properties Prices to Go Up in 2011 - Survey

Bulgaria's Sofia might experience shortage in 3 to 5-room apartments and small family houses in 2011.
The prices for residential properties in the Bulgarian capital may slightly increase in 2011, according to forecasts by realtor Colliers International, published on Wednesday.

The analysts also pointed out that the gradual improvement of economic indexes in Bulgaria will result in an increased demand and shortage in the supply of residential properties in the middle and high class.

Projects in the middle and high-class include characteristics like attractive location, good quality of construction, easy access, green areas, functional arrangement of the rooms, parking spots, professional maintenance of the property and good infrastructure in the region.

However, the most important criteria for choosing a residential property, according to the experts, is safety, followed by quality of construction and professional maintenance of the property.

According to Colliers, the number of buyers with good income, who are looking for luxurious homes, will increase. If that happens, however, there might be a shortage of apartments with 3-5 rooms and small family houses.

The survey has showed that the price per square meter in such residential properties in 2011 is expected to vary between EUR 1000 and EUR 1900.