Bulgaria is amongst the top four countries across the world where real estate has plummeted the most in value in the third quarter of 2009, according to the research of real estate consultants Knight Frank.

According to Knight Frank's report, which tracks 42 countries across the world, troubled Baltic states Latvia and Estonia have seen real estate valuations drop 34 per cent in the third quarter, but still not enough to rival Dubai, where the slump in the local market has reached 47 per cent.

The devaluation of real estate in Bulgaria in the third quarter, as opposed to the corresponding period of 2008, stood at 28 per cent.

On the flip side, 16 countries across the world saw property values increase, including Israel, where residential real estate went up by 13.7 per cent in July-September and Singapore, where prices soared by 15 per cent in the third quarter.

"Those European countries yet to record their first quarter of growth since the credit crunch include Spain, Denmark and Ireland, where an oversupply of stock is holding back prices," Knight Frank said in a statement on its website.

United Kingdom seemed to be faring rather well according to the report. In spite of the grim initial impact from the global economic downturn, the British market has regrouped and was staging a strong comeback as a shortage of houses for sale was contributing to rising values with demand outstripping supply.

Knight Frank is a global property consultancy firm with headquarters in London. Together with its New York-based global partner Newmark Knight Frank, its has 207 offices in 43 countries.