Bulgaria's Housing Loans See 10% Growth Amid Rising Property Prices
Interest in newly built properties is on the rise, driven by factors such as increasing prosperity
Property prices in Sofia have increased with 100% for the past 15 years, according to the statistics of the National Association of Building Contractors. Extremely cumbersome procedures and inadequate over-control of institutions have made a significant contribution to this increase, says Chairman of the Association Georgi Shopov. And while a private investor may take up to three years to issue a construction permit, only five days are planned for the design of an entire city square, but now under public procurement.
The Territorial Development Act has been changed 88 times for the last 10 years, says Georgi Shopov, Chairman of the Association of Building Contractors.
With each change, the procedures for preparing a private building are becoming more and more complex, and the whole process of issuing a building permit can be up to 3 years. The result of this situation is higher prices for the properties that people buy, not only in Sofia.
"These 30 years in the administration, pressed by the political model, where the protest is a loss of voters, and not the economic growth and the welfare of the population, have been made, and we have allowed an increasingly complicated and difficult regulatory framework not working in the interest of of society. We will see an example, I will not give names - there is currently a case with a building in Sofia. Do you think it is normal for a developed society with a legal base of 150 years in this area not to say for week whether the building permit is valid or not, "Shopov said.
While it takes three years for different government authorities to verify the intention of a private entrepreneur to invest money in a construction, when public funds are spent, the deadlines for such procedures are unrealistically short. This was made clear by the words of the deputy chairman of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria arch. Petkana Bakalova:
"Strengthening a school in Pancharevo to be a public school promotion order means that it has constructive problems and is dangerous. For 4 days, it is impossible neither to calculate stats, nor to make inquiries nor to provide quality design solutions. Other such cases - Slivnitsa, a square of 5000 sq.m 5 days. These are some of the most striking cases that want to show that these public contracts have two options - either the designer is pre-selected, the project has been drafted and the procurement is being conducted to get it, or the municipalities sometimes put out design deadlines after transmission of the documentation in the so- time to remove the remarks, "Bakalova said.
Interest in newly built properties is on the rise, driven by factors such as increasing prosperity
the last quarter of 2024, the proportion of properties purchased with mortgage loans in Bulgaria grew to 27%, or roughly every third property
The real estate market in Bulgaria experienced notable changes in 2024, with significant price increases and a rise in transaction volumes
Financial expert Kamen Kolchev has advised against investing in real estate, warning that property prices in Bulgaria could drop by up to 20% upon the country’s entry into the eurozone
Foreigners who invested in property in Bulgaria are now facing legal battles after discovering that their homes were sold without their knowledge
In recent months, sales of residential properties in Bulgaria’s major cities have risen sharply
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