The Bulgarian property market situation in the second half of 2020

Only a few months remain until the end of 2020, but it is already clear that the year has brought many surprises to sellers and buyers of property in Bulgaria. Home sales have fallen; it is unclear whether there is any chance of reaching the targets that experts set at the beginning of the year. 

The first two months of the year showed good results. Buyers from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Poland and Israel were actively interested in seaside housing, buying apartments in Burgas, Varna, Pomorie and Nessebar. Traditionally, there was high interest in apartments with sea views located on the first line. Apartments both in new-builds and on the secondary market were in demand, both in complexes and in ordinary residential buildings.

However, already in March, in connection with the onset of the pandemic, the market slumped. There were almost no new deals. Statistics show only occasional sales, either agreed before the crisis or arranged remotely. At the same time, the number of enquiries for the purchase of houses, townhouses and plots of land increased. Clients began to show interest in the long-term rental of cottages.

The lifting and easing of anti-epidemic measures in May pushed buyers from Bulgaria to actively search for and purchase apartments. One of the factors was the expectation of a fall in prices, fuelled by news reports and experts' forecasts. 

Reality, however, showed that sellers are not prepared to offer deep discounts and sell apartments at a loss. 

The exception is apartments in complexes with high maintenance fees. Their owners, predominantly Russian citizens, turned out to be willing to sell housing cheaply, so as to recover the sum paid at the time of purchase. Moreover, this refers to the amount in Russian roubles. Because of the fall in the rouble exchange rate, prices in euros turned out to be low. For example, a studio in Sarafovo in a complex by the sea with swimming pools and beautifully landscaped grounds can be bought for 18,000 euros. A two-room apartment in Sunny Beach not far from Cacao Beach can be had for 22,000 euros.

Another exception is property in new-builds. Developers have reduced sales prices, although the reduction is insignificant. 

But even such unprecedented sales have failed to restore the property market.

The sales dynamics at the date of this analysis are as follows:

In Nessebar, 41% fewer transactions have been registered over the past months of 2020 than in the previous year. The main reason is the lack of investor interest in property in Sunny Beach.

In the resort town of Byala, the market has slumped by 19%.

The town of Pomorie, famous for its balneological resorts, has lost 16% of its buyers. 

A drop in demand for resort property is noted in Elenite, Sveti Vlas and Ravda. 

However, if the statistics are to be believed, demand for housing in some towns on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast has grown. In Tsarevo, 11% more deals have been registered than in 2019. In Balchik, 7% more apartments have been sold, in Kavarna – 5%. Sales have also increased in Varna, with growth of 1.5%.

What then are the prospects? Given the observed dynamics, one may assume that growth in demand for apartments and houses by the sea in Bulgaria will continue until the end of the year. That said, it is unlikely that the market's losses from the first half of the year can be made up.