Against the backdrop of refugee influx from Ukraine: Prices of rental apartments on the seaside are going up

Against the backdrop of the refugee wave from Ukraine, the prices of rental apartments in Bulgaria are on the rise. This is reported by the National Real Estate Association. However, many property owners in the country are hesitant to rent to Ukrainians, as the demand is for a short period.

The large influx of Ukrainian refugees has already had an impact on rents in Bulgaria’s coastal city of Varna and they have risen in recent weeks.

The last week has certainly shown how much tension there is in the rental market, especially in the cities of Varna, Bourgas and in the smaller municipalities on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. When there is tension in a market, there is usually an increase in prices, says Dobromir Ganev, chairman of the National Real Estate Association.

In the coastal city of Bourgas, there is also a slight increase in the prices of apartments for rent, which follow the market logic, brokers explain.

If the demand is much higher and the supply is less, some deviation is possible, but in no case can I say that it is something drastic or something perceptible, says Stefka Kalcheva, a property agent in Bourgas.

To the north of Bourgas - in Pomorie and Nessebar there is no increase in property prices. However, many owners are wary of renting to refugees from Ukraine because demand is for a short period of time.

The Ukrainian refugees are looking for rentals for one month or two months at most, and landlords are reluctant to rent out their properties for such a period, said Hristina Mandadzhieva, manager of a real estate agency in Pomorie.

The concerns of the owners are usually related to whether they will be paid the household bills that come a month after the consumption electricity, water, etc,with delays sometime, says Dobromir Ganev, chairman of the National Association "Real Estate".

On average, Ukrainian families would spend 350 BGN to rent an apartment in Bulgaria. Some of them are willing to buy.

We have viewings with them, but the problem is in the payment. As far as I know there is a problem with the banks, yes they would buy a property, but how things will happen in terms of documents, no one knows, says Albert Dimitrov, a property agent in Nessebar.

Property agents will propose to the Council of Ministers a methodology to compensate landlords, similar to hoteliers, to protect their rights in short-term rentals.