Photo: Ivan Grigorov
Prices of new apartments in some areas of Sofia have dropped so dramatically, that they have pushed apartments in panel-blocks out of the market, according to real estate agency Yavlena.
A recent research by Yavlena, quoted by Investor.bg, showed that in some areas of Bulgaria's capital real estate is offered for sale mostly by those who urgently need money, while buyers are those who urgently need a home. The only exceptions, according to Yavlena, were people who had money to invest in real estate and who manage to close deals at prices up to 20 per cent below those of early 2008.
In one of the most sought-after parts of the city, the southern boroughs, final sales prices are generally only up to five per cent below asking price and were still in the 1050 to 1250 euro a sq m range, Yavlena said.
In the city centre, where prices in early 2008 could reach 3000 to 6000 euro a sq m, prices were currently around 2000 euro a sq m and rarely was the final sales price different from the asking price, Yavlena said.
In Studentski Grad (Student Town) prices for two-room apartments did not change much, while in the Iztok borough they went down from a little more than 100 000 euro in early 2008 to between 75 and 95 000 in early 2009.
Outside Sofia, in Veliko Tarnovo demand for more expensive housing had increased, while the average price a sq m had gone down slightly, Yavlena said. In villages around Veliko Tarnovo, newly built houses had mostly been bought up by Russians, Yavlena said.
In Bourgas, sales were also down, while the average sales price a sq m had gone down from 802 euro in early 2008 to 703 euro a sq m in early 2009, Yavlena said.
