1700 Euro reached the average price/sq.m. in Sofia
What happened on the real estate market in the first half of 2024?
98,178 property sales were made in the first half of 2024, according to statistics from the Registry Agency. Compared to the first 6 months of 2023, there was a very small drop in the number of transactions, which then stood at 98,832. The main reason for this is not the lack of interest, but the limited supply of residential properties. This is also the main driver for the continued growth in property prices, with the average price in Sofia, according to the real estate agency BULGARIAN PROPERTIES, reaching EUR 1,700/sqm based on concluded transactions - with nearly 12% increase compared to a year earlier.
The agency also points out that against the backdrop of scarce supply in 2023, this year the properties listed for sale are declining again - by about 10%, with the market mainly relying on new construction for supply.
Over the last 10 years it is new builds that have dominated residential property purchases in Bulgaria. According to the NSI, every year since 2016 has seen an increase in new builds and commissioned buildings - from 2,161 new residential buildings in 2016 to 5,419 in 2023. On the other hand, statistics for the first two quarters of 2024 show a year-on-year decline - 2,065 in the first half of this year compared to 2,634 buildings in the first six months of last year.
'Our data shows that 90% of the deals concluded in Sofia are new construction. This percentage has not changed much in recent years, because it is the new construction that gives the market the much needed supply and buyers are mainly focused on it,' Bulgarian Properties said, specifying that the agency specializes in the sale of new build homes, which is why their statistics are slightly higher than the market average.
In any case, however, new constructions are strongly preferred by buyers, as the quality of construction and modern building technologies make them a more promising investment in the long term.
'Old-build homes are currently in a very advantageous position to take advantage of the imbalance between limited supply and high demand. However, with an increase in supply on the market, the difficulty in transacting older properties will be immediately felt,' the agency points out.
In the first 7 months of the year, BULGARIAN PROPERTIES registered over 20,000 express online valuations of residential properties through its website. The property calculator provides an excellent guide to market trends and the point of actual transactions. Based on years of statistics across the country and researching market and demand specifics through the platform, we can get an estimate of the current price of your home in less than a minute. Many homeowners also subscribe to a monthly price update for their property, which is an excellent opportunity to keep up to date with market trends and direction.
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