The real estate market in Bulgaria continues to grow rapidly despite the pandemic. Real estate transactions are growing by 17% on an annual basis in the current 2021, according to data from the Registry Agency at the end of March.
For the first 3 months of the year in a total of 44,113 real estate transactions were concluded our country, or 6416 more compared to the same period last year.
Among the ten largest cities in terms of population, Plovdiv occupies the leading position in terms of percentage increase in real estate sales with an impressive 34.1%. In absolute value, the city ranks after the capital with 3644 deals. Sofia has achieved a total of 6683 transactions or an increase of 26% on an annual basis.
The coronavirus pandemic and yet another lockdown have led to a new trend in real estate – increased demand for rural properties so people can be secluded and close to nature. Increased interest was noted the end of last year. The most desirable homes are still apartments, at least in the big cities. “Rural properties and villa areas have always been attractive only for a certain part of people, looking for a peaceful area, but the most popular demand is for apartments – whether for investment or for personal use,” Kristian Kalinov, a real estate broker, told Actualno.com..
As for the purchase of industrial properties in 2020, sales prevailed in Plovdiv compared to rental. Small to medium-sized premises and areas are in demand, and it is envisaged that, after the end of the pandemic, the demand for larger production and storage areas will increase again.
“The biggest activity was in Sofia and Plovdiv, followed by Blagoevgrad and Petrich. The clients were mainly companies from the food industry, as well as the trade in industrial products “, Simeon Mitev, owner of the BGSKLAD platform, told investor.bg.
In the other big Bulgarian cities there is also an increase – Varna is part of the top three with 2578 deals, reporting an increase of 0.9%.
Real estate transactions in Burgas amounted to 1423 at the end of March, an increase of 12.5%. In Stara Zagora, 1102 transactions were concluded for the period, which increased by 3.8% on an annual basis. 1010 transactions are registered in Ruse, which is a decrease of 0.8% compared to the first three months of 2020, according to data from the Property Register.
There is also movement in the smaller settlements. The deals in Pleven reached 991, increasing by 20% compared to last year. The purchase and sale of real estate in Sliven jumps by 24% on an annual basis to a total of 745 transactions. 711 transactions were reported in Dobrich, which is a slight increase of 2.44%.
A decrease of 11.5% in real estate transactions is reported by the statistics in Veliko Tarnovo, where, for the first 3 months of this year, 648 purchases and sales were realized.
