Fri, Feb 10 2012
Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Average prices of Black Sea properties have decreased by 40 per cent in the first eight months of 2009, according to the International Real Estate Federation of Bulgaria.
The number of vacant offices in Sofia is increasing, reports say, the latest in a series of indications that Bulgaria’s real estate market is slumping.
Colliers Intenational expects that prices Bulgaria will stabilise in late 2009 or by the latest, the first quarter of 2010, in large part because construction levels have dropped significantly in Bulgaria.
Even though low prices are taking down the total amount needed to strike a deal, borrowers still feel intimidated by high interest rates.
A total of 3897 new flats in 547 new buildings were developed in Q1 of 2009, mostly in the seaside cities of Varna and Bourgas, followed by Plovdiv and Sofia.
Average market prices of homes in Sofia fell by one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010, according to the Raiffeisen Real Estate Index, as quoted by Klasa daily.
Proportionately, the number of transactions in leva increased as people reacted to speculation that the euro would disappear.
Nearly all banks are ready to finance between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of the price of a home, provided it is a good building in a large city, Bulgarian daily says.
Property prices in Bulgaria were five to 10 per cent lower in 2011 than in 2010, while initial estimates for this year are that they will remain largely unchanged, with transactions remaining at ‘crisis levels’.
Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia ranks 17th, report says, quoting Global Property Guide.