Bulgarian Property Market Outlook 2017

 If you’re looking to sell property in Bulgaria in 2017, you would no doubt be pleased at the amount of interest in Bulgaria has been receiving of late from overseas investors. Bulgaria is fast emerging as a popular overseas property destination.

Bulgaria first emerged on the scene in 2007 when it became a part of the European Union. Following Bulgaria’s membership of the EU, there was a 5 year moratorium on land purchases in the country, which dictated that foreign investors could only buy land in Bulgaria through a legal entity, such as a company, and not in their individual capacity.

This law lapsed in 2012, and since then the interest in Bulgarian properties has shot up considerably. The country is well positioned to take on the huge interest from cash rich investors from abroad, and has made a concerted effort to improve its standard of living.

Bulgaria is a middle-income country now, and boasts of a modern infrastructure. While the trains in Bulgaria still continue to be a relic of the Communist era, a lot has changed. New roads have been built, connecting all major cities in the country.

There are world class international airports in the Bulgarian cities of Sofia, Burgas and Plovdiv, which are well connected by flights to all major cities in Europe. The power situation in the country has improved tremendously.

Bulgaria has emerged as a popular tourist destination. Over 8 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria in 2016. Beach resorts such as Sunny Beach have become very popular with the youth from across Europe. There’s always an effervescent party atmosphere here, which draws in young people from the UK, Ireland, Russia, Germany and other countries in Europe.

Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets have emerged as popular winter destinations and attract tourists from all over the world at this time of the year. They have also emerged as popular overseas property destinations.

The real estate market in Bulgaria has been very quick to recover from the recession of 2008-2009. The country is set for an extended period of strong growth in the medium term.

Who are buying properties in Bulgaria? There is a lot of interest from British and Irish buyers in Bulgarian properties. You can find Britons and Irish nationals everywhere at beach resorts on the Black Sea Coast.

But the most prominent players in the Bulgarian real estate market are Russians. Russians share a historical relationship with Bulgaria which goes back to hundreds of years. There hence is a cultural affinity between the people of the two countries.

Russians are believed to have purchased over 500,000 homes and apartments in Bulgaria over the last decade and a half. Almost every property transaction in Bulgaria involves Russians, either as buyers or as sellers.

Property prices in the country are still slightly below their 2008 peak – when the US subprime mortgage crisis struck. But they are certainly on the ascendency, which is why there is a lot of interest in properties for sale in Bulgaria at the moment.