| Many people dream of owning a property abroad and in recent years Bulgaria became the hot spot to buy, after being thrust into the spot light by programmes such as A Place in the Sun. Five or six years ago, the British and Irish started coming en masse in search of Bulgarian property, looking for bargain Bulgarian real estate at rock bottom prices. And indeed a few years ago you could easily pick up a Bulgarian property for four or five thousand Euros. But after a number of years of foreign investment in the Bulgarian real estate market is this still the case? After the initial hype and exposure of Bulgarian real estate in various magazines and on numerous property programmes, thousands of British flocked to Bulgaria looking for cheap Bulgarian properties. They would hop on a plane on Thursday, come to Bulgaria for a long weekend, view several rural Bulgarian houses and by the time they touched down again in the UK on Monday evening after a long weekend of property hunting in Bulgaria, they would be well on their way to becoming proud owners of a property in Bulgaria for less than the price of a car back home. But the sudden influx of foreign buyers and foreign money led to an artificial boom in property prices. Resorts such as Sunny Beach and Bansko were marketed as the best place for Bulgarian property investing and thousands upon thousands of new apartments were thrown up. Local Bulgarians who had struggled to sell their old rural houses for 5000 levs suddenly discovered they could double or even triple their asking price over night to 5000 Euros and sell their Bulgarian property easily. And prices crept up and up with 30 to 40% annual increase in selling prices for cheap Bulgarian houses. By 2007 Bulgarian properties for sale for under 10,000 Euros were becoming scarce, except for in very rural or poor areas, not often frequented by foreign buyers. Where as back in 2005 you could pick up a good solid 4 or 5 room Bulgarian house on a plot of 1000sqm with mountain views for 5000 Euros, by 2007 a similar Bulgarian property would set you back 10,000 to 15,000 Euros. However, then the world recession hit and foreign buyers became less and less. Bulgarian real estate agents that had been able to simply change the Bulgarian lev sign to a Euro sign and sell half a dozen Bulgarian houses a week, were finding they were lucky to get a handful of enquiries a month. Many British that had bought several Bulgarian property investments were struggling financially back in the UK and trying to offload their Bulgarian real estate. Now in 2009 prices for Bulgarian property have on the whole dropped back to a more realistic amount and rural Bulgarian properties are priced at similar levels to in 2007. This means that you can once again pick up a rural Bulgarian house in a large plot for around 5000 Euros.Rachel Gawith runs http://www.thetravelbug.org, a website offering independent advice on Bulgarian property investments for those looking to invest in Bulgarian houses, relocate to Bulgaria or with difficulties in Bulgaria. |
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