Prices of homes in Sofia down by 40% since 2008

Capital Daily, vol.39, 22.12.11, extract

The asking prices of apartments in Sofia dropped by over 40% since their peak in 2008, the analysis of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES shows. For the country the property price decrease is between 5 and 10%, estate agents say. The biggest price fall in 2011 is registered for holiday properties in Bansko – 25%. Contrary to the price drops, the Registry Agency reports that the number of housing deals has increased by almost 30%.

Average property prices in Sofia

In January the average asking price per sq.m. of a home in the capital Sofia was 930 euro, while in November it was already 863 euro, BULGARIAN PROPERTIES say. The average price at which deals are concluded with apartments in Sofia is between 700 and 750 EUR/sq.m. – there is almost no change compared to the third quarter of the year, the company’s Chief Operations Manager Polina Stoykova pointed out. She stated that in the last few months the greatest interest is in apartments up to 50,000 euro. “For the period from October 2011 till now the average price of the concluded deals with apartments in Sofia is 44,600 euro while last year the average price was 104,000 euro due to the higher interest in properties in the higher price segment at the time”, Ms Stoykova added.

Collapse of prices in Bansko

BULGARIAN PROPERTIES report that since the peak in 2008 prices of holiday homes in Bansko have dropped by 55%. This year alone the price decrease is 25%. “This is due to the fact that in the previous 2 years prices were relatively stable but as demand didn’t increase many sellers of Bansko property had to reduce prices drastically to make a fast sale”, commented Polina Stoykova. Most deals in the resort are concluded at about 500 EUR/sq.m. for furnished properties, estate agents say. According to them the price range of properties in Bansko is quite big. The cheapest apartments are located in the outskirts of the resort as their prices are about 350 EUR/sq.m., as prices of properties in gated developments can reach 1,200 EUR/sq.m.

And Sunny Beach

Prices of holiday homes in the area of the seaside resort of Sunny Beach have dropped between 45 and 50% compared to the 2008 peak. The average asking prices in the resort is 750 EUR/sq.m. but deals are concluded at 515 EUR/sq.m.

This year, just like in the last, the main buyers of holiday homes in Bulgaria are the Russians. However, they mainly look for cheap homes priced up to 40,000 euro. Their limited budget is the main reason for the more concluded deals along the southern Black Sea coast – there is a wide choice of cheaper holiday homes there.


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