Processed real estate deals have decreased by 42 per cent in Bulgaria and 58 per cent in Sofia for the first six months of 2009, as opposed to the corresponding period in 2008, according to a research conducted by Raiffeisen Imoti.

The research was carried out following a survey by the National Statistics Institute NSI amongst companies and business in the real estate retail sector.

"According to the report and the data unveiled, the negative tendencies started in Q3 of 2008 and continued to deteriorate through in Q1 and Q2 of 2009" said Ani Angelova, manager of Raiffeisen Imoti and executive manager of Raiffeisen Bank, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

"Potential customers at all real estate sectors are waiting, with the only active on the market currently being those with riskier profile, or who are ready to gamble with the prospect of improving their capitalisation for the future," the Raiffeisen report says.

The considerable drop in business in the first six months of 2009 has affected the industry and the market behaviour of potential buyers, who are sitting out and determined to wait even further, figuring prices have not reached the bottom just yet and that the equilibrium levels are still some time ahead.

With the exception of the pre-crisis planned expansion of certain retail chains in the country, there hasn't been a single processed transaction for a large commercial, industrial or logistics parcel for a major project in the last six months, the report says.