Bulgarian Luxury Housing Market Still Lucrative

Despite the economic crisis, luxury estates in certain Bulgarian neighborhoods are generally retaining their prices and their purchase appears to be a profitable investment.

The Bulgarian newspaper Dnevnik has come to this conclusion after surveying real estate agencies in Sofia.

“The drop in prices in the luxury housing market is to a large degree smaller than the drop in the mass housing market,” said Lolina Stoykova, operations director of Bulgarian Properties. But, she believes the market for expensive homes remains one of the most stable in the property sector.

In reality however, most houses sell for 30% lower than their original offering price, said Vesela Ilieva, executive director of Unique Estates.

For example, homes in the Sofia neighborhood Vitosha currently hold the record for asking price at EUR 8 M, according to Dnevnik. The area is so expensive because it was meant to be a German embassy, and special security systems are in place. It is also the location of many diplomatic buildings.

The prices of luxury homes in Sofia remain high because “offerings are few, but at the same time, people are still looking to buy,” Dnevnik wrote.

The record high price, according to Unique Estates, is EUR 6000/square meter for an apartment across from the parliament. The most expensive house sold in 2010 was in the Boyana neighborhood for EUR 1 M. Before the crisis, such properties were sold for EUR 2 M.

Besides Sofia, the Black Sea coast is the other hot spot in Bulgaria for the purchase of luxurious property.