Bulgarian Winter Resort Property Prices Collapse Further
Properties | July 15, 2011, Friday



Property prices in Bulgaria's largest winter resort Bansko continue to collapse.
The properties on sale in Bulgarian winter and ski resorts are continuing to go down, according to an analysis of Bulgarian Properties, a real estate agency.

The demand for fully furnished apartments in Bulgaria's three largest winter resorts – Bansko, Borovetz, and Pamporovo – remained low in the second quarter of 2011.

According to the agency, in Bansko, the largest Bulgarian winter resort, the average apartment sale price is EUR 27 000, with an average price of EUR 460 per square meter, down from EUR 585 per square meter in the previous quarter, a 20% decline.

Even though the prices have been described as "
extremely low"
, the demand is weak and focuses on properties whose owners are ready to sell very cheaply, often at a loss of up to 60%.

The 2011 Q2 average apartment price in the Borovetz resort in the Rila Mountain is EUR 37 000, or EUR 950 per square meter. The Pamporovo resort in the Rhodope Mountain has seen very little real estate interest.

The sales of Bulgarian rural houses in the second quarter of 2011 remains is at the level of 2011 Q1 and 2010 Q2, according to Bulgarian Properties.

The average price of a sold village house in the second quarter was EUR 16 200, and in the first quarter – EUR 17 200, a decline of 6%.

The highest number of sales of rural homes was in the regions of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, including by a large number of Bulgarians as well as foreigners.

We look frequently on the Property Sales from estate agents on the Internet in BG and find that properties on the coast and large pieces of land in the coastal areas are always being reduced in price. This is mainly because they were vastly overpriced in the first place and needed to be reduced before anyone would go near them. Property sales in BG are no different to anywhere else in the world, there are some owners who over price and some who are more realistic. In the main it depends if Mr Mug turns up and buys at the high price or if he searches around more and finds that bargain that everyone hopes to find.

We have seen some lovely properties in the rural areas and the prices truly reflect the overall condition and the amount of renovation work required. There are times when the same property is advertised with more than one agent and a price difference will arise, sometimes by a few thousand £'s and sometimes only small change. It beggars the question "
who is getting the extra money - the agent, or the owner,'"
unfortunately it puts me off from having any interest in the property regardless of who's increased the price.

Most of us will only buy within a price range that leaves us with some working capital to do things that we would like put on the "
new"
house and to make it our style of living. Some buyers would prefer to renovate at their leisure knowing that the money they saved in not buying a fully renovated property is safely in the bank earning some interest while they are slowly renovating the house. This makes more sense to me and unless a fully renovated came up at a reduced cost, I would not be interested in buying a costly finished reno job.

its always been the same here itchyfeet...and its always been ...(ok 99.9% of the time ) been the agent that has benefited from the price difference / increase !

varnagirl wrote:

its always been the same here itchyfeet...and its always been ...(ok 99.9% of the time ) been the agent that has benefited from the price difference / increase !

Thanks for the info varnagirl Sellers should ensure that their property is advertised at the same price if they are using more than one agent, it certainly puts me off buying that property knowing that someone has changed the price, regardless of the reason which lays behind it.

I'm afraid this is what happens in BG if the agent can make a bob or 2 they will and in some cases the agent ends up with more than the seller because the seller is Bulgarian and is happy for what they perceive as a big lump of cash but not knowing that the buyer has paid maybe twice or three times more.