Bulgaria's Property Prices Up by 12% in Six Months Alone

In six months alone, real estate prices in Bulgaria have jumped by 12%, showed data of the Association of Real Estate Brokers.
In Sofia, the average price is about EUR 1,000 per sq m. There is growing interest in deals in new construction real estate.
Broker Iliyana Vasileva explained that real estate property of up to 60 sq m is most sought after and people purchase such properties in order to invest and lend these. After a certain slump in the market, now there is a deficit in supply:
“Since the beginning of the year, there has been a deficit in the supply of quality real estate in all segments. We are not just talking about small apartments! Let’s say a nice, brick, three-room apartment with a garage. There is no choice and no supply of such offers,” said Vasileva.
This is why ¼ of the buyers are targeting deals in new construction properties
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Sounds like good news but who knows? The Bulgarian media is something I don't really trust but lets hope it is right.

I agree with what you're saying Gina...another thing to consider is that the real estate spokesperson seems to be linking this trend with the movement of apartment style properties, mainly in Sofia. They seem to forget that there are other places and other types of property in the rest of the country...or maybe they choose to forget that point.

In the Plovdiv district, there are numerous properties of all styles available for sale and quite a bit cheaper than Sofia.

I would take the article with a grain of salt.

GinaA wrote:

Sounds like good news but who knows? The Bulgarian media is something I don't really trust but lets hope it is right.

Does this article give a little more hope for the future, it certainly looks as if it is going in the right direction

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Going back to what I wrote earlier, the price difference between Sofia and Plovdiv has remained about the same (percentage wise) and there is plenty to chose from here, including numerous new builds.

In a way, I can see why foreign buyers choose coastal locations, but unless you plan on staying in the country full time, these properties are more likely to be for investment and can be costly to manage and maintain.

I agree with you Baz all the way. Sorry Brian I just don't see it as they do at the moment ? maybe in a year or so we will know what is happening but to be honest with a world recession nothing is promising.

Thanks Gina...I can see why some folk are nervous, but that's the nature of investment...there is always a risk involved, especially so in the short term scenario. As you mentioned, there is a recession at the moment and my personal feeling is that it will get worse before things start to get better and those who have planned for the "long time, not the good time", will weather the storm. Obviously, the Brexit thing will have some folk a bit on edge, mainly because of the uncertainty surrounding the immediate future and I understand that.

My advice (not that it matters) is, beware the knee jerk reaction and think deeply before you jump.

IMHO....Its Propaganda

justbazz wrote:

Going back to what I wrote earlier, the price difference between Sofia and Plovdiv has remained about the same (percentage wise) and there is plenty to chose from here, including numerous new builds.

In a way, I can see why foreign buyers choose coastal locations, but unless you plan on staying in the country full time, these properties are more likely to be for investment and can be costly to manage and maintain.

That is a good point. I would love to own one of the houses I've seen that have been nicely renovated with a garden and fruit trees, there are a lot to choose from. But the reality is that if I bought, I would only be in country for 2-3 months of the year, it would be impossible to upkeep and not be feasible in my case. So that leaves me with looking at apartments preferably in a gated community with someone on site so I can sleep easy at home not wondering how my place is doing. And in the future if I do decide to sell it seems the coastal areas would have the best chance to sell the property in timely matter. Although I have seen a few apartments that have been on the market for over a year now.

Hi Daryl

All I would add to the above post is to be very careful when choosing an apartment, especially on the popular beachside areas.
Be very, very diligent with your homework and accept very little at face value...many sad tales out there! Expect to be scammed and work your way around the obvious ones...or walk away!

The buying exercise is not something which can be undertaken quickly.

justbazz wrote:

Hi Daryl

All I would add to the above post is to be very careful when choosing an apartment, especially on the popular beachside areas.
Be very, very diligent with your homework and accept very little at face value...many sad tales out there! Expect to be scammed and work your way around the obvious ones...or walk away!

The buying exercise is not something which can be undertaken quickly.

Excellent advice

justbazz wrote:

Hi Daryl

All I would add to the above post is to be very careful when choosing an apartment, especially on the popular beachside areas.
Be very, very diligent with your homework and accept very little at face value...many sad tales out there! Expect to be scammed and work your way around the obvious ones...or walk away!

The buying exercise is not something which can be undertaken quickly.

Hey Justbazz, thanks for the heads up, and yes, I have read about a few horror stories about buying property in Bulgaria. But this trip is going to be more of a fact finding mission when it comes to looking for a property, I won't be buying on this trip. The first thing I want to see is if this is going to be a place where I want to own a property. A lot of things sound great about Bulgaria, the sea, the mountains, golfing, mineral spas and low prices for, well, pretty much everything. But what it will come down to is if it will be a place where I feel comfortable at and want to comeback to all the time.

I probably will be looking at a couple of places just to get an idea what they are like in real life. A lot of these apartments at resorts look like they are no more than a hotel room that you would own. Some of them actually are in hotels I see. Not something I would be interested in. And then there are yearly maintenance fees on a lot of them. You have to watch how much they charge you and allow for that.  Also some of the places look like they have pretty cheap finishes inside, I would want a place with nicer flooring, cabinets, etc. When you take a look on the realtor websites they make it sound so good, but you won't really know what they are like until you see them for yourself. So many things to think about.

Daryl

I have sent you a pm which you might find quite interesting and it will answer a number of your questions I hope

Why didn't you share it on the forum [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ?