Regional cities drive Bulgarian property sales

Bulgarian property sales are increasing - albeit slowly - driven by activity in regional cities. Bulgarian Properties reported that transactions continued to follow their upwards trajectory in the third quarter of the year, rising by 1.42% on an annual basis. Bulgarian Registry Agency data showed 59,475 homes were sold in the country between July and the end of September, representing slightly slower growth than in previous quarters.

Bigger regional cities were behind gains, accounting for 53% of total sales in the country during Q3. This is a rise of 5.35% from 30,155 in 2012, to 31,767 in 2013. Sofia has been one of the strongest performers, with transactions increasing from 4,210 in Q3 of last year to 4,536 in 2013. This growth of 7.74% is above the average for regional cities and indicates the return of buyers. Similar conditions were also experienced in Plovdiv, were 7.64% growth was noted on an annual basis.

Nonetheless, it is Burgas that is leading the sales race, with transactions increasing by 23.43 per cent year-on-year during the summer season. Polina Stoykova, chief operations manager and head of research at Bulgarian Properties, claims this is symptomatic of the recovery of the property market in seaside regions and rising tourist numbers. Figures from the Tourist Industry have shown Russian and the Ukrainian tourists are the main holiday markets.

The summer season was certainly a positive one for Bulgarian real estate. A report from Bulgarian National Television showed real estate agents believe transactions to have increased by 20% year-on-year, econ.bg reported. The Bulgarian National Bank also recently noted property transactions increasing by 29,641 year-on-year during the first six months of 2013. Standart revealed that during the first half of the year there were 109,636 real estate deals, most of which involved domestic buyers. This is considerably higher than the 79,995 recorded in the same period in 2012.

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