From the end of 2008 the number of new buildings in Bulgaria has decreased by 432 and the number of the apartments in them has decreased by 42.8%.

The greatest number of new apartments still are completed on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Only in Burgas district 1136 new apartments have been finished this winter. In second place is Varna district with 727 newly finished apartments, followed by Sofia with 580 and Plovdiv with 265. There are no new apartments in Stara Zagora and Kyustendil.

The area of the newly finished apartments in the first quarter of 2009 is 294 000 sq m which is a decrease by 16% in comparison with the same period of 2008. The size of the average living area has also diminished from 78.3 to 75.5 sq m in the same period.

Now is the best time to buy a property. the property prices have dropped significantly and there are no expectations for further decrease, according to large estate agencies. The average decrease of the prices in Sofia since the beginning of 2009 is 6%. The price drop is more significant – of up to 15% – in affluent areas where the prices have been unreasonably high during the property boom, like the Doctor’s Garden in Sofia, as well as in areas with bad infrastructure. By the end of the year prices will drop further by 5-6% but not more, say analysts. Even if there are further price reductions, buying property now will be profitable in the long run. Buyers can naturally wait a bit longer but it is not sure how much of their money will be eaten by the inflation.

The development of the property market in the next few months will depend on the economic recovery and on the job security of the buyers. According to bankers, many governments work toward the increase of the amount of cash in their countries so the increase of inflation is a normal consequence of the recession. As Bulgaria is in the conditions of a monetary board, the inflation is imported and it is a sign of the recovery. However, the recovery will not be felt before the middle of 2010. In this connection, prices will fall further but only of properties which are of lower quality or those belonging to developers who are now experiencing cash problems.

The number of new buildings in Bulgaria in 2008 was 2926 which is an increase of 8,5% in comparison with 2007. Most buildings have been made of concrete and steel, according to the National Statistics Institute. The average area of a newly built apartment is 78,2 sq m, while some years ago it was 80,6 sq m. The largest average apartments are in Gabrovo and Dobrich – 121, 3 sq m – while the smallest ones are in Pernik – 54,1 sq. m.