Dynamics of the real estate market in Bulgaria in the first half of 2021

In the first half of 2021, many researchers started talking about the recovery of the Bulgarian real estate market. There is an increase in the number of finished living buildings and infrastructure facilities. The shock of 2020 has passed, and now that the pandemic is slowing down, demand for property began to recover, while prices for apartment and villas by the sea in Bulgaria began to increase.

Construction market situation

The web portal Investor analyzed changes in the volume of commissioned residential and commercial property. Data are reported as of May 2021.
In accordance with the received results, throughout 2020 the Bulgarian construction market experienced an unprecedented decline. The peak was during the lockdown – March-May last year. 

However, starting in February 2021, the picture has changed. Since that time, the average month increase in the construction amounted to 2.3%. Talking about the annual dynamics, the increase in the construction rate was 15.7%.

To make a more accurate analysis, the researchers provide separate data for residential construction, which is more interesting for potential housing buyers. Compared to the last spring, the growth in April 2021 was 11.5%. Most of the living buildings (7.7%) were erected this March.

The tendency of an increase in the number of the finished property was recorded in Varna, Burgas, Sofia, Plovdiv. If you drive around Burgas, you will notice that a huge number of new residential buildings are being erected in the districts of Lazur, Izgrev, Slaveykov, and Meden Rudnik. Lots of luxurious and economic class property objects are under construction. New housing is being built in the coastal district of Sarafovo. Most of the apartments in these buildings were sold at the excavation stage.

The opposite situation is in the resorts of Sunny Beach, St. Vlas, Sozopol, and Nessebar. Many construction projects have been frozen due to the lack of investment. Whether 2021 will bring relief to developers is not yet clear.

Dynamics of prices of property in Bulgaria in 2021

The situation with real estate prices is also interesting. In 2020, apartments in Pomorie, Ravda and Sunny beach could be bought at a deep discount. There were also low prices for real estate in residential complexes in Sarafovo (Burgas). As an example – a 44 sq. m studio apartment in Atlantis Resort could be bought for 18,000 Euros, spacious one-bedroom apartments were sold for 36-39 thousand Euros. If desired, one could buy a one-bedroom apartment in a living complex for just 30,000 Euros.

Since 2021, a clear tendency for resort real estate price increase has been noticed. Today, one-bedroom apartments in Atlantis (Sarafovo) cost over 45,000 Euros.

An exception to the overall situation is apartments and townhouses in Burgas, Varna, Sofia and Plovdiv. Here, prices grew even during the crisis. The gradual increase continued in 2021 as well. Compared to the same period in 2020, prices for some types of housing have increased by 10%.

The main reason for the property price increase on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is the fear the still unfinished pandemic and the likely admission of Bulgaria to the euro zone will cause high inflation. This is why the majority of real estate buyers are Bulgarians. 

Traditional interest in resort property is also observed among foreigners, especially from the citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany, and Israel. The main purpose of buying an apartment is permanent residence and rental. Up to 25% of buyers consider Bulgarian housing as an investment. The most popular are large apartments with one or two bedrooms from developers.

A decrease of demand from Russians and British continued. Residents of these countries sell their property. And while Russians are decreasing prices, no matter whether they sell luxurious property with excellent finishing or inexpensive studio apartments, the British try to sell flats and houses at market prices.

Apart Estate agency closely monitors the real estate market dynamics in Bulgaria. By contacting us, you can be sure that we will select the best options of new property from developers and owners.