Serious movement in the real estate sector in Bulgaria

The Executive Director of the Credit Center Tihomir Toshev reported that, the first quarter of the year was quite good for the real estate market in Bulgaria. There was an increase in transactions by 23% on an annual basis in the major cities.

According to the specialist, this indicates more serious movement and more motivated buyers.

"There is almost no change in the price, although according to the statistics there is data of a drop between 3 and 5 percent".

Toshev added also, that the main segment of search in Sofia and Varna continues to be between 40 and 60 000 euro, there is interest mostly for one-bedroom properties due to the higher prices in these two leading cities. In the smaller cities the interest is oriented to the larger 3-bedroom properties, because of their lower prices.

"The demand for luxury property also marks a rise since the beginning of the year. The houses and apartments for sale over 200 000 euro are the subject of serious interest right now. The rich people have finally noticed that kind of market and the opportunity to buy property".

According to Toshev words, the connection between the tax deposits and the activity in the sector it is not very strong. The truth is that some people have decided that it is better to buy a property with the money saved. So they will save taxes and receive future income in the form of rent.

"Unlike the growth in transactions, the rise in mortgage loans is minimal - it is less than 1% for the first quarter. However, there are many attractive offers currently on the market.

Even the political events and the elections in Bulgaria couldn't reverse the trend. On the contrary, several financial institutions have reduced further the interest with which the average interest rates became in the range between 6.2 and 6.75% in leva and euro.

The offers with fixed interest currently have a maximum duration of up to 10 years. Most proposals are within 3, 5 and 7 years. There are customers in the market, who insist for a period with a fixed interest rate.

A large amount of people living on rent decided to buy property this year, motivated by the low prices and good terms offered by the banks. This is good, because in most cases the monthly payments are equal to the rental payment.