In 2011, priced for apartments in Bulgaria will hit bottom and go upwards by the end of the year, according to forecasts by real estate experts.

“Prices for residences in 2011 will remain at their historically low levels. We expect them to be stable in the big municipal cities. We also expect a delay in the drop of prices in the country in general,” said Teodora Dimitrova, executive director of the Bulgarian office of ERA.

Real estate agents from Elta Consult also think that drastic changes are unlikely to occur next year.

“Even if the market has not hit bottom yet, it is close to it for sure,” said Polina Stoykova, operations director at Bulgarian Properties.

Data from the national statistics showed that the average prices for apartments have returned to their levels from three years ago.

In the third quarter of 2010, the average price was BGN 960 per square meter. In the first quarter of 2007, it was BGN 988 per square meter.

Since Bulgaria’s entry to the EU, the prices started to go up from 2007. They continued to rise until the second quarter of 2008 and reached BGN 1,418 per square meter. Then, they started to go down.

According to Polina Stoykova, an increase of the number of deals would be the first positive factor that the property market is getting out of the crisis.

Teodora Dimitrova has pointed out that the demand for residences will depend on employment, salaries and access to credit. In her words, the real incomes of people continue to decline and the perspectives for employment are not clear, which makes people limit their expenses for everything, which is not a necessity.

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