Bulgarian building boom is not affecting prices

Sofia house prices ‘stabilised’ during the first half of 2006, the international estate agent partnership Colliers International has reported. Its latest Residential Market Overview, said prices increased only marginally in the last six months compared to previous years, with supply exceeding demand.

Soifia’s Ivan Vazov neighbourhood is emerging as the second most expensive location in Sofia after constant favourite Doctor’s Garden. The average asking prices in Doctor’s Garden reached £1,150 per square metre in the first six months of 2006, followed by the Ivan Vazov area with prices averaging £900 per square metre, and Lozenetz at £663.

The middle segment of the market is the most active, with two bedroom apartments in highest demand. Buyers continue to prefer properties that are completed or in the final stage of completion. Yields ranged between 7 per cent and 10 per cent for single deals of residential properties.

Outside Sofia, 12,000 holiday homes have so far been sold in Bulgaria’s mountain region, with Bansko as the principal location, said the firm. Some 7,000 of them have been sold in the last year.

Mountain resort developments range in size from 10 to 400 units, ‘often with a wide range of on site facilities’.

A further 6,000 holiday homes have been sold in Bulgarian costal resorts in the last year with more than 22,500 units in various stages of development, ranging from off-plan projects to completed properties.

Despite the fact that supply has outgrown demand, prices of holiday homes remain stable. The highest prices were in St. Vlas where they varied between £406 per square metre to £1,250. The highest mountain resort prices were in Bansko, where apartments are sold for more than £1,100 per square metre.

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