30% Rise in Property Transactions in Sofia: Sales Expected to Increase Further This Autumn

A 30% surge in property deals has been recorded in the capital over the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2024, with expectations for an even greater boom in the autumn months. The Ministry of Justice has already taken measures to ensure that the Registry Agency can process documents within statutory deadlines.

In the first six months of the year, a total of 66,803 transactions were concluded – an average of 371 per calendar day. In June and July alone, 21,000 acts were registered. Forecasts suggest that by the end of the year, a record will be set for the highest number of registered property transactions in the past two decades, surpassing the 2008–2009 peak.

The trend remains for the purchase of mainly primary residences, though there is also a rise in acquisitions for investment purposes – either for resale at a profit or for rental.

Workloads at notary offices in Sofia are particularly heavy, with some booking appointments as far ahead as the end of September. By law, transactions must be notarised by a local notary, meaning a sale in Sofia cannot be completed in Pernik, Kyustendil, or Pazardzhik.

Around 85% of the market remains residential purchases, with one-bedroom flats losing popularity to two- and three-bedroom properties.

“The remaining 15% covers other residential properties and commercial real estate. Within that 15%, about 4–5% is the market for houses, studio flats, four-bedroom, and larger apartments, with the rest being business premises,” said Galen Gavrilov, manager at a real estate agency.

In Sofia, investors annually bring to market between 6,000 and 8,000 fully finished new homes, which are sold literally within weeks. This is in addition to purchases of off-plan properties.

The largest share continues to be transactions involving older properties, where buyers are exposed to a higher risk of attempted fraud. For this reason, the Ministry of Justice will establish a direct connection between the Cadastre, which issues property diagrams with lists of owners, and the Registry Agency.properties.

In Sofia, most transactions are funded through mortgages, with a 60:40 ratio in favour of loans, compared with around 32–33% mortgage funding in the rest of the country.

The impending adoption of the euro as Bulgaria’s currency in early 2026 is expected to fuel further market activity in autumn. As a result, the Minister of Justice has asked the Registry Agency to adjust its operations:

"First and foremost, work should be redistributed among the various regional offices in the country, so that they take on part of the workload from their colleagues in Sofia, to the extent permitted by law. We are monitoring transactions in real time, and I receive daily updates to assess whether additional resources are needed,” Gavrilov explained.

The property market is also influenced by low interest rates, which narrow the gap between rental payments and mortgage instalments.

"About 15% of purchases are for investment purposes – that is, with the intention of resale at a profit or letting in the future. All the rest are to meet personal housing needs," Gavrilov explained.

The largest share continues to be transactions involving older properties, where buyers are exposed to a higher risk of attempted fraud. For this reason, the Ministry of Justice will establish a direct connection between the Cadastre, which issues property diagrams with lists of owners, and the Registry Agency.

"Recently, we have observed an increase in cases where individuals, using forged ownership documents – false ones – file claims in the Cadastre, in the Cadastre Agency, asserting rights to properties to which they have no legal entitlement. However, they are recorded in these documents. Now, to put an end to this practice, we are introducing direct, real-time access for employees of the Cadastre to the Property Register, so that everything we see regarding ownership deeds – whether there is indeed a notarial deed, whether under that number it is the same notarial deed, and so forth – can be verified immediately, thus preventing the registration of claims by fictitious owners and protecting the interests of genuine owners. The various groups in the property mafia are extremely resourceful," commented Georgi Georgiev, Minister of Justice.

By registering a forged notarial deed, fraudsters present a property diagram from the Cadastre as proof of ownership, take a deposit from buyers, and then disappear.