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For the last several years, the market of real estate in Bulgaria has been dynamic as well as unpredictable. A year ago, it was overwhelmed with a lot of good offers, while these were buyers who controlled the market. Today, demand far exceeds the offers, and the terms are dictated by sellers. For more information regarding the residential and commercial property sales in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2021, read the special review prepared by Apart Estate specialists.

There are no complete statistics yet, but we can say with confidence that the tourist season of 2021 in Bulgaria has taken place. More than 2 million tourists have rested on the southern coast of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast alone, and their flow does not stop. The airports of Burgas, Varna, and Sofia serve dozens of flights from Russia, Germany and Poland every day. Many vacationers come by their own cars. Apart Estate agency has prepared a short summary about the peculiarities of the 2021 tourist season in Bulgaria and its impact on the real estate market.

Long-waited news – Russian citizens can fly to Bulgaria, starting from June 28. On June 18, Tatyana Golikova, Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister issued an official notification about the resumption of flights between the two countries. 

The question of when Bulgaria is going to open for tourists from the UK, Russia, Israel, a row of European and Asian countries and when they can freely fly to Bulgaria for a vacation has finally been resolved. From the 1st of May Bulgaria opens its borders for the people living in the most states of the world.

The entrance of Bulgaria to an area of euro and the Schengen Agreement has been discussed for a long time. In 2007 the country joined the EU, but did not become a member of the single currency and visa area, so many people, jokingly, call it “half Europe”. 
Some changes were outlined in 2020 when the country joined the exchange rate mechanism; this can be considered as preparation for the transition to a new currency. The fact caused a lot of debates and fears, including among real estate buyers who are worried about whether they should buy an apartment in Bulgaria today or it is better to wait. The specialists of the Apart Estate agency analyzed all aspects of the problem and are ready to answer the question.

The second wave of coronavirus headed Bulgaria at full force. The Government prolonged an emergency epidemiological situation till the 31st of January 2021 and quickly voted for new restrictions. New measures come into effect from 23.30 on the 27th of November and will be valid till the 21st of December 2020. These restrictions will affect all the spheres of life.  From Monday, November 30, all the students will be transferred to online education.

On September 1, Bulgaria presented new rules for visiting the country. Regulations are described in the Health Ministry order # RD-01-488/ 08/31/2020. They will be in effect till 09/30/2020. The present legal act describes in detail, citizens of which states can cross the Bulgarian borders without limitations in terms of pandemic. There are several categories of travelers who do not need to follow quarantine. Neither should they present coronavirus negative examination results. Among these happy people, there are: Persons keeping a permanent or long-term residence permit, or a valid visa D in Bulgaria; itizens and keepers of residence permits of the countries-members of the EU, their families as well as persons in de facto cohabitation. This relates to the Schengen Agreement’s states;

More than half of 2020 has passed by. For the Bulgarian real estate market, the year started with an increase; it promised growth of prices, sales, and more profitable deals. However, the pandemic and the introduction of first a state of emergency, and then an epidemiological emergency clearly demonstrated that plans and forecasts most often have nothing to do with reality. During the first two months of 2020, one could observe a high interest in apartments, houses, and townhouses in Bulgaria. Real estate in the Black sea and downhill ski resorts was in high demand. Most of the buyers were citizens of Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Ukraine, Israel, and Bulgaria. Flats in new buildings and in the secondary market turned out to be in equal demand.

The season 2020 in Bulgaria is not like others. Hotel and restaurant owners, real estate sellers will remember it for a long time. It is summer on the calendar, but there are fewer people on beaches than usual. Troubles are mainly caused with the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is keen to know when Bulgaria will open borders for tourists. One should not think that because of coronavirus pandemic, Bulgaria and its opportunities have become inaccessible. 
We would remind that earlier, on June 1, amid a decrease of the incident rate and the adoption of strict measures to ensure health security, the country opened its borders for a number of countries. From this date citizens of 28 EU member countries can visit Bulgarian cities freely without 14-day quarantine. Residents of 8 other European countries were allowed to come but subject to 2 weeks self-isolation. 

These days, the majority of countries announced self-isolation of people and quarantine. This violated the plans of those who planned to acquire property in Bulgaria. The borders are closed institutions work in a remote mode or half a day. The world seems to stay on one place. But there is no need to panic and reject the plans. Probably, quarantine is the best time to buy cheap apartment in Bulgaria.