The market in village property, until recently driven by interest among Irish and UK investors, is gaining popularity among Bulgarians.

Instead of investing their money in holiday property at the seaside or in mountain resorts, many Bulgarians prefer to buy houses in villages so that they could use them as villas at weekends, Kapital weekly reported.

Others are even ready to live in a village and commute to work.

The main factor influencing purchases is the nearness of a property to a big town. Although most Bulgarians prefer to have a house near their city, they are increasingly focusing their interest on property at distance more than 20km out of town.

Simeonovo and Dragalevtsi, formerly outlying villages, have become part of Sofia. Property prices in certain villages near Sofia, including Pancharevo and Kokalyane, have already become too high.

Buyers are starting to look at houses 40 km northeast of Sofia, focusing mainly on the villages of Kostinbrod, Slivnitsa and Novi Iskar.

The same trend has been seen in the regions of Veliko Turnovo and Rousse.