Bulgaria and Cyprus seeing positive signs

Bulgaria's property market is "coming out of the crisis", according to Bulgarian Properties.

The agents' analysis of the data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI) shows that, once adjusted for inflation, property prices in the second quarter of 2014 were 2 per cent higher than the same period in the same year.

There was even a small acceleration of the pace of price growth compared to Q1, notes the site, when prices rose 1.79 per cent annually, ending a long run of price decreases.

"This data is fully in line with our forecast at the end of last year about the end of the downward trend and the beginning of a new stage of the market development," says Bulgarian Properties.

The figures follow a report from PMR Group that shows the market is becoming increasingly stabilised. Indeed, while prices have become less volatile, demand has risen, with transactions up 17 per cent, particularly among high-end apartments and prime markets. Overseas investment is a major driver in activity, says the report, highlighting Russian investors as the biggest spenders.

Bulgarian properties singles out Sofia and Plovdiv as enjoying the best turnaround, with (inflation-adjusted) house prices registering their fourth consecutive annual increase of 4.38 per cent and 5.37 per cent respectively. This means that the house prices in Sofia and Plovdiv have been rising for a year already.

"There is a growth in prices in all major cities of the country," adds Bulgarian Properties.

Cyprus sales are up again

Cyprus has had a long, slow journey from the low point of the financial crisis, but 2014 has seen signs of recovery appear across the island.

Prices for house and flats dipped 1.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively in the first quarter of the year, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Since then, though, the market has enjoyed a burst of interest, as buyers were attracted by the affordable values.

According to the Land Registry, transactions registered in May soared 157 per cent year-on-year, with overseas demand particularly notable, pushing up sales 115 per cent.

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