Bulgaria – is Sofia set to be the next property market hot spot?

The Bulgarian property market has certainly had its fair share of media attention in recent years with specific focus on the coastal holiday home market. As a result of this, there is no secondary market, developments have been hyped and sold by agents on high commissions and price rises and anticipated rental yields are, for the most part, unrealisable.

So our advice at Property Secrets – stay well clear of the Bulgarian coast as an investment opportunity!! Its been over hyped and over supplied and offers poor resale and rental opportunities.

Property Secrets believe the real opportunity in Bulgaria lies, as it does in other markets in central and Eastern Europe, in the cities, and in particular Sofia.

Demand for property in the cities is driven by three factors: the emerging middle classes who provide the demand for modern apartments, plus increasing affluence coupled with the supply of capital in the form of mortgage lending. We are currently seeing all these trends in Sofia.

All the fundamental factors are in place for Sofia to grow in the same way as other emerging CEE cities have previously done.

Currently, Sofia is a relatively small capital city with a population of just over one million in a relatively small country. Nevertheless, it is a very dominant capital city representing some 16% of the country’s population.

Various forecasts have been made about the rate of increase of Sofia’s population from the conservative to those that predict its population will double within 10 years. All we can be very confident of is that Sofia’s population will grow rapidly and fairly dramatically as a result of inward migration.

Sofia’s salary levels represent more than two and a half times the country’s average – plenty of incentive then to go to the capital and find a job.

This level is well above the norm in CEE countries – where perhaps 40-50% more than the country average is standard.

Unemployment in the capital has dropped significantly from 15% in 1993 to 2% currently and Sofia has absorbed nearly half of all FDI coming into Bulgaria.

Sofia has a huge 27% of its population within the household formation age range (20 to 34) – higher than any other CEE country.

In addition, comparisons have shown that Sofia has the second largest household size in the CEE at 2.5% people per household. This is also a clear indicator of future, or current, pent-up demand for housing.
Property Secrets – helping our investors understand Bulgaria’s huge potential and current risks

Bulgaria is only a good place to invest in if you have in-depth knowledge of where to avoid – Property Secrets, via our analyst team and investment brokers, has this expertise to help our members.

Property Secrets has launched the ‘Bulgaria Property Market Profile’ which is the latest in their range of Country profiles, providing you with an in-depth analysis on exciting property markets and investment hot spots in Europe. ‘Bulgaria Property Market Profile’ will provide you with detailed information on the property market in Bulgaria and specific information on Sofia and reasons why it is set to be a hot market for future property investment. This essential guide to Bulgaria is written by Property Secrets’ expert Research and Analysis team and includes a demographic and economic overview, as well as an insight into individual locations. The publication offers an all-you-need-to-know guide on Bulgaria for any property investor.

The Bulgaria Property Market Profile has been produced in addition to existing country profiles in Albania, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Ukraine, with more to follow shortly such as Cyprus, Croatia, Latvia and Malaysia.

Bulgaria Property Market Profile will be available to download for £17.99 or FREE for Property Secrets members. This can be purchased along with other ebooks and publications, via the Property Secrets’ website (propertysecrets.net).

A Property Secrets’ membership costs just £7.99 per month and gives access to an unlimited number of reduced price publications, advice and forums, as well as a host of other benefits unavailable to non-members.

Property Secrets is currently offering a free 14 day try-before-you-buy promotion to any new members, or existing Lite members who upgrades to PRO membership.