Prices of apartments in Sofia rose by 20%, average price reaching 1,840 euro/sq. m

Prices of apartments in Sofia have risen again, with the average price reaching €1,840 per square metre in Q3 2024, up from €1,550 in late 2023, marking an 18.7% annual increase (16.3% after deducting inflation) after a slowdown at the end of 2023, according to data from one of the country's major real estate agencies.

The average total price of apartments purchased rose to €159,500 from around €140,000 at the end of last year.

More transactions

Despite the rise in price, however, transactions are not decreasing, on the contrary - they are increasing.

Despite higher prices, property transactions in Sofia are up nearly 13% for the first nine months of 2024, according to the Registry Agency. For the first nine months of the year 24,818 transactions were registered in Sofia.

For completed apartments in Sofia's secondary market, transaction prices range between €2,300 and €2,500 per square metre, while in the most prestigious neighborhoods of Sofia, prices reach up to €4,000 per square metre, which is a kind of psychological threshold for buyers for concluding deals at the moment.

The average salary in Sofia is currently BGN 3,128, which means just over one month's salary is required to purchase one square meter of living space, compared to 3.4 salaries in 2008.

Most preferred neighbourhoods

The highest number of sales was registered in Banishora (1968 EUR/sqm), Malinova Dolina (1420 EUR/sqm) and Krustova Vada (2000 EUR/sqm). These are also the areas with the largest number of new construction projects, which are currently driving the market and have been more preferred by buyers for the past 10 years.

The trend of insufficient supply on the secondary market has continued this year. New construction is also failing to make up for the shortfall, and figures for new building permits issued show that there has been a drop of 20% for buildings and 30% for dwellings in them compared to last year. This means that the new buildings about to come on the market will not be able to help boost supply either.

What kind of housing is most in demand?

Two-room flats are the most popular, with a 60% share, while three-room flats account for 35%. Four-room apartments account for less than 5% of the total transaction volume.

Buyers are moving towards more compact homes, with two-bedrooms remaining the most popular due to their more affordable end prices, the industry noted.

Bank lending, a major contributor to price growth, increased 36% year-on-year. By the end of September, the country's banks had extended loans equivalent to the entire 2023 volume.