Housing in Bulgaria

The average price of housing in Sofia exceeded 1,100 euros / sq.m The increase is due to the higher number of sales of newly built large apartments. The average price per square meter of living space in Sofia exceeded 1,100 euros. At the beginning of 2021, brokers report concluding deals at an average of 1,144 euros / sq.m., Which is 6% more than a year ago.

The growth of the price of housing in Burgas is similar, where a large number of newly built apartments have appeared in the last year. For the other big cities there is no change. The price differences on the real estate market in the capital compared to the other cities in the country continue to be large. In Plovdiv, Burgas and Varna the prices are 30% lower than in Sofia.

TOP 5 of the most expensive cities Sofia (1144 euro / sq.m) Varna (875 euro / sq.m) Plovdiv (735 euro / sq.m) Burgas (725 euro / sq.m) Veliko Tarnovo (620 euro / sq.m) There is a certain shift in the most expensive neighborhoods in Sofia. At average prices per square meter, Lozenets has already ceded the first two places to Ivan Vazov and Iztok. The central part of the capital has also moved to the rear.

TOP 5 of the most expensive neighborhoods in Sofia “Ivan Vazov” (1684 euros / sq.m) “East” (1614 euro / sq.m) “Lozenets” (1578 euros / sq.m) Center (1553 euro / sq.m) “Yavorov” (1434 euros / sq.m) The main reason for the increase in the average price of residential properties in the year of the COVID-pandemic – 2020, are the larger number of transactions with apartments of new construction, and completed with a larger area. Two-bedroom apartments are most in demand, with interest in those that do not need additional construction work or repairs, say brokers. Another reason for the increased demand for real estate is the continuing fall in interest rates on mortgage loans, which already reach 2.5%.

In 2020, the average amount of withdrawn mortgages has increased in proportion to rising prices. In 2019 for Sofia it is BGN 140,000, while last year the amount increased to BGN 147,000. The data for the rest of the country show BGN 108,000 for 2019 and BGN 110,000 for 2020. At the same time, the share of deductibles in property purchases has increased in 2020. Co-financing by buyers is at least 20%, while in previous years banks financed 90, even 100% of the property price.

“The coronary crisis had a negative impact on credits below BGN 50,000, affecting people with lower than average incomes. It was these groups that lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

However, the number of people who took out a credit over BGN 50,000 has increased, ie those with good incomes employed in sectors that were not affected by the crisis, such as pharmacy and information technology. The reasons for buying a home are most often indicated place of residence – 80%, while for investment purposes are 20% of transactions.