Private law enforcement officers sell an average 550 pieces of property owned by debtors each month, according to statistics.

In the first six months of 2011, a total of 3310 foreclosed properties were auctioned off due to unpaid debts.

According to Georgi Dichev, Chair of the Bulgarian Chamber of Private Law Enforcement Agents, the most common type of property sold at foreclosure auctions is residential but there is also a rising trend for foreclosure sales of commercial property, including hotels, factories and office buildings.

In 2010, private law enforcement officers sold a total of 5700 properties.

The number of citizens and companies failing to pay what they owe is rising, with 80 000 new lawsuits opened against debtors in the first six months of 2011, compared to a total of 140 000 lawsuits for the entire 2010.

Foreclosure lawsuits are most often filed by companies, followed by banks.

Commenting on trends in the sphere, Bulgaria's Standard daily predicts that 2011 will witness a peak in bankruptcies.

The newspaper cites Georgi Lilianov, Managing Director of Coface Bulgaria, as saying that the number of bankrupt companies is expected to rise by 40% year-on-year by Christmas.

In his words, the trend will be driven by the ongoing crisis and by delayed bankruptcy court decisions.

Lilyanov saus that the biggest share of bankrupt companies are in the construction,transport and agriculture sectors.

According to Kamen Kolev, Deputy Chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), private companies in the country are facing a growing uncertainty mainly due to the frequently changing regulatory requirements.

The endless changes to laws and regulations entail uncertainty for business planning.

In Kolev's opinion, the main obstructions are the judiciary, the sluggish bankruptcy proceedings, which block the assets of the companies involved for long periods of time, the heavy-handed regulatory regime, the including increasingly difficult to obtain building permits, the various fees stifling the business sector, including fees for administrative services, for garbage collection, etc and the tight access to financing, including EU money.