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Buying a Property in Bulgaria

Why buy property in Bulgaria?

Updated May 2011

Only a few years ago, buying a property in Bulgaria was seen as exotic and something of a risk. The property market was immature; the country was emerging from the disadvantages of being a former Communist state, and nobody was quite sure of how long the property market would continue to grow. The seaside resort of Sunny Beach was being mooted as one of the biggest new tourist destinations.

At the time, property was available off-plan for somewhere around £20,000 in the new resorts on the Black Sea coast. Things have changed somewhat since then. Bulgaria has become part of the European Union; the property market has seen unprecedented growth and the focus of British buyers has shifted away from the Black Sea coast to the ski resorts and the capital, Sofia.

As the first off-plan developments have now come ‘on-stream’ in the resorts and are accepting short-term tenants, the next couple of years will prove how much the property market and the new tourist trade will make a difference to the country. Sofia and the major towns are developing and modernising rapidly, and in some cases the infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the rapid growth in the property supply.

In common with many Eastern European countries, Bulgaria has found it’s fledgling free-market economy ill-equipped to deal with the global recession that has come in the past six months. An oversupply of property in some areas was already putting pressure on the market, and the result has been an annual fall in property prices across the country of 8.4 per cent, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute.

Experts are predicting further falls at the beginning of 2011 which would, hopefully, bring the market to rock bottom with no further falls anticipated. And, since the only way from rock bottom is up, 2011 may just be the year to buy.

Popular locations - an overview

Bulgaria was predicted to be the next big thing in the tourist market in the UK, particularly the Black Sea resorts of Varna, Bourgas and Sunny Beach. Tourist numbers from the UK doubled in 2005 but the short summer season has seen this growth stutter a little. At the same time, the growth in the middle classes in Russia opened a new front in the battle for rental occupants with the Black Sea resorts becoming a popular destination for Russia’s new middle-management classes. The global financial recession has slowed this growth for the time being, but once the economy recovers Bulgaria should be in a position to attract tourists from Europe and Russia.

Those who prefer their holidays a little cooler will want to head to the ski resorts of Borovets and Bansko in the Pirin Mountains, an hour or so from Sofia. The ski runs are of good intermediate level standard, and the mountain scenery even better, in what is a World Nature Heritage national park. Borovets, near to the Rila Monastery, in particular, has character aplenty.

Sofia

Sofia is the country’s largest city and home to its major museums, administration and government. The most Westernised of Bulgaria’s cities, with the exception of the tourist resorts, Sofia has only recently become a focus of significant foreign investor interest. However, accession to the EU, along with greater accessibility, has seen the city become more ‘on radar’.

SW Bulgaria: Mountain region

Bansko, located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains and its national park, attracts visitors thanks both to its ski slopes and to its cultural monuments, museums and murals. This is the region of choice for those who prefer the real Bulgaria – yes, some people claim that much of the country is already being spoilt by rich Westerners! Check out Borovets, the oldest and largest ski resort in Bulgaria.

More pages

Page 1: Why buy property in Bulgaria?
Page 2: Bulgaria's Black Sea coast
Page 3: Money matters

Related Articles

• Mortgages in Bulgaria
• Guide to Mountain Resorts
• Guide to Bulgarian Cities
• Guide to the Black Sea Coast
• Considerations for buying property
• Bulgaria: An Overview
• Emigration Fact Sheet

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