In recent years, the number of home purchases for personal use and those for investment purposes was almost equal, with a slight increase in the former. In 2026, however, a significant change will be observed, as over 70% of purchases will be for personal use. Purchases of residential properties for the purpose of resale at a higher price will drop dramatically in 2026. If until now the profit from such a transaction was an almost certain result, then the uncertainty regarding price levels in the coming months, as well as consumer attitudes, will cause speculative participants to significantly slow down the pace.
„Investment transactions are the segment of the market that is likely to undergo the most drastic changes this year. Their share will fall by half – from 25% on average for 2025, it will become 10-15% in the coming months. The trend will apply both to people buying green with the aim of exiting the investment after Act 16, and to those operating on the secondary market, relying on the natural growth of prices“, commented Gergana Tenekedzhieva, CEO of ADDRESS.
The availability of bank lending is expected to remain at relatively stable levels, although the second half of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 indicate a slight tightening of financing.
In the past 12 months, incomes have outpaced inflation almost 3 times. If the first indicator has grown by as much as 12% for the period, then inflation has risen by 4.4%. This is also one of the prerequisites for the active market last year.
„The past year 2025 was diverse in terms of activity. If the beginning was extremely dynamic, then towards the end we reported a slight decline in activity, at least in terms of inquiries. At the end of the year, however, the numbers are positive again. The big cities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, registered an 11% increase in the total volume of transactions. In total for Bulgaria, the increase is 6%, and in the main cities in which the company operates, the growth is 9%“, Tenekedzhieva points out.
According to her, the activity on the market will also be directly dependent on the labor market. Although at the end of the year more than half of the companies operating in our country did not plan layoffs /62%/, the employment challenges related to rising labor costs, the difficulty of finding qualified labor and regulatory burdens will probably be felt in our country as well. A similar trend would also have a direct impact on the property market.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen at imot.bg