Polina Stoykova: Rural houses are the hit of 2020

At the moment - in June, the property market is quite active, the crisis seems to be behind us. At least that is what the behavior of the market participants shows. Overall, there is quite a good activity and it's as if we're back at the beginning of the year.

People who inquired about properties in early March are now returning to those same properties and are buying them. For me, these 2-3 months were a pause and restart, people started from where they had stopped.

This is what Polina Stoykova MRICS, Managing Director & Head of Research of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES said during the 11th edition of the economic forum The Sound of Money.

"An increased demand is observed both in Sofia and the other city markets. We work with the pre-crisis prices. "People saw that construction of the new development projects didn't stop in these 2-3 months," Stoykova added, "which was pretty good news for the market," she said.

Some of the developments even managed to get Act 16 (Permission for Use) during this period, while most of the others made significant progress, which has played a key role in maintaining the confidence of buyers, she added.

"After the checkpoints were dropped and people could travel freely around the country, buyers became more active. Currently, the market is in a better shape than before the crisis, as we have activation in the segment of both holiday properties and rural houses, which are proving to be the hit in 2020, said Stoykova.

There will certainly be a lot to learn from what is happening this year. First - the year will be much shorter - 10 months instead of 12. Secondly, everything is happening at a fast pace, and all these processes, which had been postponed, have suddenly been able to make a progress towards a greater digitization. As already mentioned - a lot of new technologies have entered our work, such as the virtual 360-degree tours.

For me, this will be the major outcome of 2020 - the added value is much more appreciated by customers and they will become increasingly demanding of us as consultants, brokers and professionals.

Attention is also paid to the planning of new buildings and their future occupancy. More and more construction entrepreneurs and investors turn to us for advice at this early stage because they realize that the success of the project depends a lot on the concept and design, said Stoykova.

What is happening right now is that we are all thinking very carefully about what we can buy and what we can invest in. The sellers are much more flexible in their intentions and in the possibility of negotiations.

This year, among other things, provided an opportunity to achieve a better dialogue between market participants and to achieve a better balance and to spread the upward market trends from the large cities to smaller settlements, villages and resorts, Stoykova added.

Stabilization will be observed on the market, and in terms of prices I do not expect anything different from last year. With careful and well-thought actions each of the market participants can be successful on the real estate market in Bulgaria this year, she concluded.

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