Decrease in interest in downtown properties

The trend has been observed since the beginning of August and increased in September when the new rules for parking in congested areas of the city came into force.

The wave of the interest in purchasing or renting in these areas is forwarded to the surrounding neighborhoods like "Lozenets", "Strelbishte", "Ivan Vazov", "Banishora", "Lagera" and etc. They have the same or similar access, but are exempted from the restrictions associated with the central part.

Offering in the center region is increasing notably. For the retirees living there is financially disadvantageous to maintain such an expensive and large real estate, they usually want to sell it and to buy a smaller home.

Often properties in the central parts doesn`t have an elevator and this further increases the desire for sale of the owners.

The new rules for parking created difficulties for people living in the central part of Sofia.

The trend of the outflow from the center is valid not only for purchases, but also for the rental market due to difficulties encountered in obtaining tenants with the entire set of documents required for the removal of vignettes. This is another reason that is added to chain "noise, difficult access, air pollution," which worried shoppers downtown for years, "says Bogdanov.

According to the latest data, sales of properties in the center decreased with 26 % in September compared to May 2012 . Seeking a rental property in the center, traditionally active in the first autumn month, is with 15% lower, compared to a large number of requests for the surrounding neighborhoods. According to experts, this trend has not been reflected to the prices, but many sellers and landholders in central properties are standing in a waiting position.

With 150% increased the number of purchases of residential properties for investment purposes in September compared to January 2012. Investing a certain amount in purchasing a home and then rent it for long term is a better financial decision than putting the money in a bank.

According to the data the profitability of a residential property is between 4.5 and 5%. From retail space, shops in developed regions and main streets, it may even reach 8%. In conjunction with the new tax and spontaneous civil response against it, in the next months the trend of a growth of real estate investment will increase.

More than 50% of buyers do find desired property within 3 months.

The main vendors in September are the retired, whose number has increased with about 70 % compared to January this year. More active, with 10% compared to the first months of 2012, are younger buyers. Most of them were renting until. Now they are seeking autonomy in well-kept neighborhoods with transportation and mostly near to a metro station.

The main reason for sale is still the urgent need for money, but a lot of sellers sell properties that are not used.About 10% are sellers who are more mobile on the labor market and sell their property, because are moving to another part of the town or even in another city, led by development in their profession.

Double trades remain popular on the market - most of the middle-aged buyers sell home just to buy new, with better location, bigger and more luxurious. For this purpose they use allocation or resort to small-sized mortgage or consumer loan with low interest.

Some even double deals are realized based on the sale of ancestral land in the country, and the investment of the money earned is usually home in the city, mainly in Sofia.

Now about 15% of sellers use the services of only one broker. Thus they receive personal attention, recent market information and are saving a lot of personal time. This is an established practice in the more developed real estate markets in the world - the U.S. and Western Europe.

Prices in the capital and other major cities in the country remain stable - they fell down to 3-3.5% in certain regions or show a slight increase of about 1-2%. Movements are not meaningful and cannot draw a steady trend in the market which is the reason for the optimistic forecast of the agencies.

Property up to € 50,000 is still the most desired from the buyers. Purchase of such home forms about 80 % of all transactions in September.