Sofia city - the European capital with the cheapest properties

Polina Stoykova MRICS, Head of Operations and Property Research of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES, comments on what happened on the Bulgarian property market after the country has joined the EU in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.

The property prices in Sofia city are the cheapest compared to the cities in other European countries. Even the neighboring countries’ capitals like Belgrade, Skopje and Bucharest offer higher property prices. While the real estate prices in Vienna start from an average of 2,500 Euro per square meter, the prices in Sofia start from 750 Euro. There are top offers as well with the most expensive house in Bulgaria being currently sold for 4 million Euro. What is happening on the real estate market in early 2014? Have the picture changed after 7 years of the country's membership in the EU? Are foreigners still interested in buying properties in Bulgaria?

Russians remain the largest group of foreign buyers at the moment. They dominate on the Black Sea market, making 95% of the sales. Recently buyers from Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan are showing interest in buying a second home as well. Because of the crisis in Greece, the Greek buyers withdrew from the property market in Bulgaria. They are more interested in making business, in tourism and shopping in Bulgaria, but the interest towards the properties is rather weak," said Polina Stoykova, Head of Operations and Property Research of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.

"We are closely following the profile of the foreign buyers and the largest group is that of the Russians”, told Polina Stoykova. “It is interesting that about 20% of the foreign buyers are in the column "other". It includes many countries across Europe - France, Germany, Holland, Belgium and also nationalities from more exotic and far-away destinations such as Americans and Canadians. These clients have no permanent presence as nationality, such as the Russians".
However, exactly these 20% show that the Bulgarian market is positioned permanently as an internationally destination for buying a second home. There is an interest in rural houses, ski properties and holiday resorts on the Black Sea coast. "I hope this is a sustainable trend and a fact that our market is not dependent and dominated by one nationality only," said Polina Stoykova.

How has the real estate market changed over the past 7 years since Bulgaria joined the EU?

"Bulgaria’s joining the EU coincided with the beginning of the crisis. This happened in 2007, but the outflow of British started in the same year”, said Polina Stoykova. “Instead of receiving the additional market incentive the crisis mitigated this effect. However, the purchase of a property by EU citizens has been facilitated. This helped the market go through the crisis and have potential for future recovery."

The real estate market benefits from the EU membership attracting the interest of Russians and of investors from other countries, including interest in business and commercial properties. "The potential is great and the crisis slowed down, but in the long-term the EU membership will have a crucial role on the real estate market," commented Polina Stoykova. As for the political situation in the country, "the market is not only declining, but on the contrary, we see movement up as the number of the deals is increasing and we even think there is a post-crisis reality and a new stage of development," said Polina Stoykova about the expected trends in 2014. It turns out that the economy and the real estate market follow its own rhythm, but influenced by the trends in Europe and in the world. The data is positive," commented Polina Stoykova.

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