August 4th, 2009 — 11:13am
The number of purchases of property in Bulgaria has decreased sharply according to analysts. In the first six months of 2009 in comparison with the same period of last year the number of property purchases has decreased on average by 42% for the country as a whole and by 58% for the capital Sofia, based on the information provided by the National Statistics Institute. The volumes of the current market are similar to the ones in 2005.
The tendencies which started in the last quarter of 2008 continued and even deepened in the first half of 2009. The buyers are currently waiting to see which way the market will go. Only those who can see a long-term profit risk buy now. Apart from the planned expansion of the big retail chains which started in the beginning of 2009, there has not been a single purchase of land for a big project. The prices of apartments have dropped by 9,7 % only in the first quarter of this year according to the National Statistics Institute. The average price for the country in the second quarter of 2009 is 1074,98 levs/sq m. The highest property prices are in Varna – 1827 levs/sq m, followed by Sofia – 1745 levs/sq m and Burgas – 1471,67 levs/sq m. The lowest price is in Kiustendil – 540, 85 levs/sq m.
The purchase prices of properties drop faster than the rents and returns are becoming higher. The reason for this is on the one hand the crisis in finding financing for a property purchase and on the other the fact that many prospective buyers stay as tenants and thus keep rents high.
The annual return of an apartment in Sofia in the first half of 2009 was 4,5% while in the last half of 2008 it was 4,1 %.
Comment » | Bulgaria, Property
July 17th, 2009 — 10:49am
Office space, shops and industrial space are rented on average for 5 years in Bulgaria. In case of contracts with longer term, the rent is lower than the average and the tenants secure the use of the office for a long time. On the part of the owner long term rental contracts secure a guaranteed income from their property for a long time. Rents in Bulgaria are updated by using a standard method of measuring of the inflation on the basis of the prices of goods, used within the EU. As in most countries the rent in Bulgaria is calculated on a monthly or on an annual basis. The terms for the extension of the contract are usually set in the contract but when the term of the contract expires and the tenant continues to use the space, it is considered that the contract has been extended indefinitely. In such case the contract is terminated by a notification given by any of the parties one month in advance.
Comment » | Bulgaria, Property
June 12th, 2009 — 2:49pm
Vitosha Boulevard in the Bulgarian capital Sofia dropped out of the top 50 most expensive streets in the world. The boulevard is in 53-rd place with an average rent of 120 EUR/ sq m. The rent in all locations around the world have dropped in the last 12 months because of the global recession. Although the most expensive streets are without any competition, the big brand names tend to avoid opening new veniews there and prefer to open smaller shops in other areas.
Number one among them is still 5th Ave, New York with an average rent of 15 000 USD per m per annum. Chanzelysee in Paris is in the second place and Russel Street in Hong Kong is in the third place.
Comment » | Bulgaria, Property
May 21st, 2009 — 11:49am
The price of agricultural land in Bulgaria has decreased by 40% in the first months of 2009 in comparison with 2008. The reason for this is the recession and the boosted prices of agricultural land in the beginning of 2008. This has put off many prospective buyers.
At the moment the average price is between 200 and 300 levs per 1000 sq m.
The top most expensive agricultural land is in north-east Bulgaria, in the area of Dobrudja, while the cheapest around Vidin in north-west Bulgaria, Haskovo in the south, Lovetch and Gabrovo in mid-Bulgaria and Pernik, close to Sofia.
Despite the price drop, the rent of agricultural land steadily increases. At the moment the average rent is between 18 and 20 levs per 1000 sq m, which is an increase of 10 levs in comparison with the same time last year.
1 comment » | Bulgaria
May 15th, 2009 — 2:11pm
Companies in Sofia which offer office space for rent have a special offer of 3 to 12 rent free months. Tenants who sign a contract with them do not pay rent for some time as a bonus.
The reason for this is the collapse of the rental market of office space in the last few months. According to the statistics, 12% of the office space on offer in Sofia is empty. The average rent of good quality office space is 13-14 EUR per sq m.
Comment » | Bulgaria, Property