What is happening on the Bulgarian holiday home market?
Over the last two years, the supply and demand for holiday homes has followed the growth of the overall property market in Bulgaria. Many of our clients (Bulgarians and foreigners) are looking to buy their own home in a preferred beach or mountain resort or to invest their savings in a property that has the potential to be used as a second home or for rental.
After price rises of around 30% per annum in 2022 and 2023, we are seeing some easing in 2024. According to the Registry Agency, there has been a drop in transactions in the seaside and mountain resorts of around 10-15% in the first quarter of the year. However, as the summer season approaches, the market in this segment is picking up. And the growth in demand provides excellent conditions for the sale of such properties.
According to BULGARIAN PROPERTIES, the most in demand at the moment are studios and one-bedroom apartments. The reason is that they are more easy to sell and more affordable as a final purchase price. There is also interest in two-bedroom apartments for own use by people who prefer greater comfort for longer stays.
Apartments, especially in buildings with low or no maintenance fees, are favoured and when attractively priced they manage sell within a few days or weeks. Overpriced properties stay on the market longer and deals are often done after price negotiations.
Buyers prefer resale properties that are furnished and ready to use. New construction in the resort property segment is more difficult to sell, especially unfinished or turnkey only condition, as it is an extra effort for the new owners to renovate and furnish from a distance. Usually, such properties come with completion option and furnishing packages from the investor.
BULGARIAN PROPERTIES' data based on real transactions show that currently in most resorts the apartments are sold at average prices around 800 euro/sq.m. Exceptions are locations such as Borovets, Sveti Vlas, Pomorie, Sozopol and south of Burgas in general, where deals are concluded at levels of 1,200-1,400 euro/sq.m.
Although there is some slowdown in price growth, the development of the holiday property market continues. Prompted by the effects of Covid-19 a few years ago, this development is now a sustainable trend thanks to transformations in habits and attitudes regarding work and leisure. We see that people who have acquired a property at the seaside spend time there from the Easter holidays until late autumn, when there are still suitable conditions for leisure and time in the open air.
What is the approximate market price of your holiday property at the moment you can check with the free property calculator of BULGARIAN PROPERTIES. It has been developed based on solid market statistics, including the most popular resorts in the country, and gives an express estimate in less than a minute.
Interest in the different resorts is fairly evenly distributed. There are buyers both for Borovets, which is the closest to Sofia, and for Bansko and Pamporovo, which in turn offer lower prices. On the sea, the most attractive for buyers are the areas in the north around Kavarna, Balchik and Byala, as well as the whole area of Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas and Nessebar, Pomorie, and south of Burgas (in Chernomorets and Sozopol).
BULGARIAN PROPERTIES has properties for sale in all mountain and seaside resorts, making us a real hub for the best offers. And a trusted advisor for those who need help finding their dream second home.
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