by FSBO 
Are you considering selling property in Bulgaria? Bulgaria is a Balkan nation with diverse terrain encompassing Black Sea coastline, a mountainous interior and rivers, including the Danube. A cultural melting pot with Greek, Slavic, Ottoman, and Persian influences, it has a rich heritage of traditional dance, music, costumes, and crafts. At the foot of domed Vitosha mountain is its capital city, Sofia, dating to the 5th century B.C.
Well, this is a good time to be selling overseas property in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is one of those countries that has experienced an incredible rise in property prices since the early 2000s. So you’re most likely to get a good price for your property there.
Who is buying properties in Bulgaria?
The Russians are buying for sure, and in a big way. The Irish and the Brits have always been involved in the Bulgarian property market, as buyers or sellers.
In the past, selling property in Bulgaria was much easier because the Russian Rouble was flying high. Now, with the Russian Rouble down because of all the U.S. sanctions imposed on Bulgaria, it’s slightly harder to get a good Russian buyer.
Many Russians have chosen to enter the property market as sellers, mainly to take advantage of the falling Rouble. This means they can sell their property in Bulgaria at a 35 to 40 percent loss and yet recoup the value of their original investment.
As a result, the property market in Bulgaria has a glut of properties waiting to be disposed off. Brexit hasn’t helped either. Even so, property prices have been rising in Bulgaria and that is good news.
Indeed, home prices went up by 10% in Bulgaria in 2022. This is as good as it gets in the EU. Average home prices in Bulgaria have gone up by 4.6% since the last 10 years.
The present real estate prices in Bulgaria are much higher than the levels last seen in 2017. It’s easy to see why this is happening: The emergence of Bulgaria as a prime tourism destination.
Every year, the tourism numbers in Bulgaria hit a new record. In 2021, it was over 7 million; in 2022, it was 8.2 million. This year, it is expected to be much higher.
According to the Bulgarian Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova, there was an increase of 3.6 percent in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country in the months of June and July this year.
“For June and July alone, we had over 2.6 million foreign tourists, an increase by nearly 3.6%. This means that our forecasts for an increase of about 5% in June-September will materialize,” Ms. Angelkova said. Over 5.2 million foreign tourists have visited Bulgaria already this year, an increase of 7% over the same period since last year.
That is important, because any country which receives a high number of foreign tourists will do well as an overseas property market destination as well. Already this year, there has been an increase of 50% in the number of Chinese tourists who visited Bulgaria.
That means, there is every chance that wealthy Chinese business executive will be impressed enough by Bulgaria and the relaxed lifestyle it has to offer to want to buy property here. This presents exciting opportunities for those interested in selling overseas property in Bulgaria fast.
