The chilly days at the end of January, when people hardly buy or sell any real estate, brought the official statistics for 2004, which shows that housing prices rose by 47.5 per cent last year.
The country’s forthcoming accession to European Union continues to drive prices of real estate up, National Statistical Institute said when announcing the data on January 21.
The average apartment price rose to 540 leva for a square metre in 2004, up from 366 leva a year earlier. Apartments across Bulgaria sold at an average of 633 leva for a square metre in the fourth quarter, up 11.3 per cent from the previous three-month period.
In the last quarter of 2004, Sofia boasted the highest house prices, or 1094 leva for a square metre on average. The amount represented a 3.1 per cent increase on the quarter.
Next come Varna and Bourgas (both on the Black Sea), with 1083 and 962 leva for a square metre, respectively.
The year 2004 is expected to remain historic in terms of the amount of construction works in Bulgaria. The total amount will come out to be about 3.8 to 4.0 billion leva, or one billion above the level in 2000 when construction works amounted to 2.8 billion leva.
There are two reasons for the stir-up in the branch. One of them is the growing interest in residential buildings in the bigger towns and along the Black Sea coast. The other is the increased price of some construction materials and labour costs. And of course, another factor is the price increases.
Another thing that is going to boost housing prices, especially in Sofia in the months and years to come is the fact that Government will support housing rehabilitation in Bulgaria with direct subsidies covering 20 per cent of the costs. The announcement was made by Petya Gegova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, after the Council of Ministers’ regular meeting on January 20.
Rehabilitation will allow households to save between 35 and 40 per cent of the heat energy they use. Many homes are energy-inefficient because of air leakage through the windows and poor thermal insulation of external walls.
Experts estimate that 680 000 housing units will need to be rehabilitated in the following ten to fifteen years. The largest category (360 000 units) are in buildings made of prefabricated concrete slabs, which was the most widespread method of housing construction in the communist era. Energy efficiency in such buildings is particularly poor and gets even worse with time.
Rehabilitation is expected to cost 85 leva per square metre of floor space. This means that the rehabilitation of a two-room apartment of 75 square metres will cost 6375 leva, of which the housing owner will have to pay 5100 leva and the Government will contribute the remaining 1275 leva.
The subsidies will go towards the costs of technical inspection, compiling profiles of the buildings, design solutions, and consultations.
In addition to the direct subsidies, housing owners will be able to acquire ownership of the housing land after their unit is rehabilitated, Gegova said. Government is also planning tax incentives for owners of rehabilitated housing.
The country’s forthcoming accession to European Union continues to drive prices of real estate up, National Statistical Institute said when announcing the data on January 21.
The average apartment price rose to 540 leva for a square metre in 2004, up from 366 leva a year earlier. Apartments across Bulgaria sold at an average of 633 leva for a square metre in the fourth quarter, up 11.3 per cent from the previous three-month period.
In the last quarter of 2004, Sofia boasted the highest house prices, or 1094 leva for a square metre on average. The amount represented a 3.1 per cent increase on the quarter.
Next come Varna and Bourgas (both on the Black Sea), with 1083 and 962 leva for a square metre, respectively.
The year 2004 is expected to remain historic in terms of the amount of construction works in Bulgaria. The total amount will come out to be about 3.8 to 4.0 billion leva, or one billion above the level in 2000 when construction works amounted to 2.8 billion leva.
There are two reasons for the stir-up in the branch. One of them is the growing interest in residential buildings in the bigger towns and along the Black Sea coast. The other is the increased price of some construction materials and labour costs. And of course, another factor is the price increases.
Another thing that is going to boost housing prices, especially in Sofia in the months and years to come is the fact that Government will support housing rehabilitation in Bulgaria with direct subsidies covering 20 per cent of the costs. The announcement was made by Petya Gegova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, after the Council of Ministers’ regular meeting on January 20.
Rehabilitation will allow households to save between 35 and 40 per cent of the heat energy they use. Many homes are energy-inefficient because of air leakage through the windows and poor thermal insulation of external walls.
Experts estimate that 680 000 housing units will need to be rehabilitated in the following ten to fifteen years. The largest category (360 000 units) are in buildings made of prefabricated concrete slabs, which was the most widespread method of housing construction in the communist era. Energy efficiency in such buildings is particularly poor and gets even worse with time.
Rehabilitation is expected to cost 85 leva per square metre of floor space. This means that the rehabilitation of a two-room apartment of 75 square metres will cost 6375 leva, of which the housing owner will have to pay 5100 leva and the Government will contribute the remaining 1275 leva.
The subsidies will go towards the costs of technical inspection, compiling profiles of the buildings, design solutions, and consultations.
In addition to the direct subsidies, housing owners will be able to acquire ownership of the housing land after their unit is rehabilitated, Gegova said. Government is also planning tax incentives for owners of rehabilitated housing.
