A sharp drop in the number of sales of holiday homes on the Black Sea and ski resorts is expected by the end of this year, Pari daily has said, quoting various real estate agencies. However, it is hard to forecast because there are no unified statistics about the market. Lux Imoti (Luxurious Estates) expects to strike 30-40 per cent fewer deals on Black Sea properties and 80-90 per cent fewer deals on mountain properties. The Varna-based agency Foros, on the other hand, expects a decrease of only five to six per cent.

At the same time, British citizens, until recently the most prominent buyers of seaside properties, are trying to sell their bought-for-profit apartments. Luxurious Estates have revealed that most re-sale transactions are now rendered at a loss. If two to three years ago clients paid 1100 euro a sq m, for example, they're now selling for 850-900 euro a sq m.

Real estate agents, however, are unanimous that the decrease in sales can be attributed to the receding tide of British buyers. They have been replaced by Russian, Scandinavian and Romanian potential property owners, but those groups do not buy on the same scale as British citizens, Foros manager Dobromir Ganev has said, as quoted by Pari daily.

Foros reveals that the average price of a holiday home on the east side of Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) resort sells for 1650 euro a sq m. Luxurious Estates, on the other hand, have said that they are advertising properties for 2000 euro a sq m, but that actual transactions do not exceed 1100-1200 euro a sq m.

Both real estate agencies, however, register that property prices in the west side of the resort are now half the value they were several years ago. A holiday home there currently fetches 600 euro a sq m. According to the manager of Foros Sunny Beach office, the potential buyers of low-priced apartments are primarily Bulgarians.