LM Legal Services Blog

In the beginning of 2012 the market of rural properties in Bulgaria is slower than in the same period of 2011. This might be due to the exceptionally harsh winter this year. The average price of houses sold in rural areas in the first two months of 2012 is 15 500 Euros. This price for the same period of last year was 18 900 Euros. At the same time, in 2011 there more sales of houses in the 35-45 000 Euros range. The prices of rural properties peaked in 2004-2005 but have fallen six times since then and are now selling at the price levels of 2006. However, now buyers focus on much better rural properties.

In 2011 the main interest was in rural properties in Central Bulgaria and along the Black Sea coast. The expectations are that this tendency will not change in 2012.

Until now the information about repossessed properties offered at auctions was only available at the offices of the private judges, in the municipalities and the in the regional courts. Often this information which had to be available a month before the auction disappeared.

Now, the cheap repossessed properties which judges sell in Bulgaria can be found on the web. The Chamber of the Private Court Executors publishes information for upcoming auctions at http://www.sales.bcpea.org

At the moment there are 164 announcements for the sale of all types of property – apartments, houses, warehouses, plots of land, etc. The information is constantly updates. The highest number of announcements have been made by the Sofia City Court. Among them are auctions for apartments with a starting price of up to 60 000 levs (30 000 Euros) . For example, the bidding for a one-bedroom apartment on Alexander Stamboliysky Boulevard will start at 52 400 levs, while the bidding for the same size of apartment by located in Hadji  Dimitar at 65 000.  Bidding for apartements in the areas in the outskirts of Sofia start at under 20 000 Euors.  The announcement coming from other Bulgarian cities are quite interesting.  In Varna the bidding for a two-bedroom apartment will start at 80 000 levs and for a villa at 105 000 levs.  In general currently there are eight houses in the country at prices under 10 000 levs.  The most expensive offers are: a factory in Burgas with a starting price of 29 826 750 levs and a house in the affluent Dragalevtsy in Sofia with a starting price of 760 000 levs.

If an auction fails and nobody bids for a property, there is a second auction and the price drops by 20%. The successful bidders must pay the whole amount of the price of the property within 7 days. Potential bidders’ only worry is that the former owners of repossessed apartments can appeal against the repossessions.