Bulgarian real estate prices chase European ones

propertywisebulgaria.com, 2008-01-19

     Bulgaria's real estate market is still advancing. The country became the world champion in terms of property price growth last year. Real estate appreciation in Sofia and Bulgaria's large cities is still ongoing and land prices are set to follow the same trend. But property price fluctuation is unpredictable, Orlin Vladikov, the former head of National Real Property Association, said in an interview with Bulgarian National Radio at the end of 2007.
     Other experts, like Daniela Nikova, the owner of a Sofia-based property agency, comment that Bulgaria is already on a par with Europe for real estate price levels. A quality three-room apartment in the centre of the Belgian city Antwerp fetches the same price as a pre-fabricated panel one-room dwelling in Sofia, offered for 55 000 euro, Nikova noted. Bulgarian real estate prices have soared and the phenomenon has no logical explanation. National statistics have not recorded a significant increase in household income, which could possibly account for the population's boosted purchasing power, she added.
     Property prices will gain another 30 per cent this year, Daniela Nikova forecasts. The change will be mainly in new construction units due to the lack of building plots, particularly in Sofia. The few remaining ones are very expensive because of supply deficiencies. There are many construction companies willing to build and sooner or later they are compelled to put up with the high price. Surprisingly, notwithstanding high property prices, there is demand in the market.
     The best deals currently involve land investment due to the large number of investment funds, Nikova said. She explained that a land purchase would prove more yielding than buying an apartment, renting it out and then selling it. She expects that the downward trend in Black Sea holiday apartment prices will persist in 2008 and even become more pronounced. Many unsold seaside properties cannot attract buyers because they lack a suitable location, quality, adequate infrastructure or the promise of significant rental returns. A drastic drop in prices could well be the only way to sell them.
     Many Bulgarians are opting to buy a coastline apartment in Greece, where construction density stipulations are more stringent and where there is more space and green areas. Daniela Nikova predicts that foreign investors will become interested in mountain resorts and villages. However, there are foreigners who prefer buying apartments in Sofia, preferably ones located in new high-quality buildings in the centre. Regarding retail space, Nikova shares the view that the large number of mall projects in Sofia and other cities could over-saturate the market. Therefore, many developments will either see changes from the original concepts, or will not be realised at all. Small shops, located outside big shopping centres, will not disappear - there will always be demand for such units because they usually sell at lower prices. Moreover, Sofia lacks warehouse space and future industrial developments will have no problem finding tenants, she added, predicting a bright future for this segment.

Latest news about Bulgarian property market

Property Articles - RSS Feed

     The "Property articles" RSS is the section for Bulgarian real estate news. Specialists of Bulgarian Property Ltd. work up the information in Bulgarian newspapers, other edition, and Internet and arrange all articles that touch the area of real estate and themes close to it. We can without extrapolation say that we supply our customers and visitors of our web site with latest and most actual press info.