Property prices in Sofia and Varna last month were higher than they were a year earlier but still well below the pre-crisis peaks of 2008, a real estate consultant has said.

According to the latest price index update compiled by Bulgarian Properties firm, August prices in Sofia were 0.92% higher than a year earlier, while those in Varna were up 13.3%.

Sofia and Varna led the way in market recovery last month as compared to August 2013 with rising prices and the biggest numbers of deals, Bulgarian Properties said.  

It added property sales in August hit record high numbers in Sofia, Varna and the Black Sea resort of Slanchev Bryag, supporting the company’s optimistic expectations for the second half of the year. 

Yet, Sofia property prices were 41.7% lower last month than they had been before the crisis. Varna property prices were 35% lower compared to the pre-crisis levels.

Unlike the cities of Sofia and Varna, Slanchev Bryag and the ski resort of Bansko couldn’t show a year-on-year rise in property prices last month.

In August, property prices in Bansko were 5.6% lower than they had been a year earlier, while prices in Slanchev Bryag were 4.6% below the level of August 2013.

Compared with pre-crisis peak levels, August property prices in Bansko were 61.7% lower, while prices of Slanchev Bryag properties were 37% lower.