The modernization of Plovdiv began a year before the city was to be the Capital of Culture. At that time, a large-scale renovation of a number of infrastructure facilities was carried out, which not only increased the quality of life, but also property prices. In the last 3 years, however, the city has witnessed large-scale construction, not only of single residential buildings, but of entire complexes.
On average, prices per square meter of residential area increased by about 30%, according to data from the largest real estate website imot.bg. For two-bedroom apartments, the price increase over the last 3 years is 33% - from just over 1000 EUR/sq m in September 2022 to 1300 EUR/sq m today. The increase for three-bedroom properties is less - 29% - again from 1000 EUR/sq m 3 years ago to almost 1300 EUR/sq m today. The supply of studios is almost non-existent. The reason is that there is almost no supply in old construction, and the new construction - does not offer such properties, due to the introduction of new architectural solutions and the lack of profit from them for the builder. Therefore, most investors, in addition to the mass 2- and 3-room apartments, prefer to offer larger 4-room ones, instead of small-sized properties. In 4-room apartments a higher percentage of appreciation is observed - 37%, and the average offer price to date is approaching 1400 EUR/sq.m.
„In recent years, Plovdiv has undergone serious construction. Unfortunately, the city government is having a hard time responding to what is happening in terms of infrastructure, and not only investors, but the city as a whole is suffering. There are quite a few projects that are being implemented. We expect four of them to happen in the next 5-6 years and to have a very serious impact on real estate prices,“ says Miroslav Yazov, manager of a real estate agency.
- The extension of Blvd. “Saint Petersburg“ along Trakia to the Ring Road and the road to Yagodovo. There is a huge area behind Kaufland that is undeveloped. People who live in that part of Trakia walk around the neighborhood to get to the center. “This breakthrough will seriously unclog the entire area. There are currently two construction sites that are being developed there. I expect their number to increase. The new building of the Mathematics High School will also be there. So the area is emerging as one of the future modern districts of Plovdiv. Hopefully they will do it with appropriate infrastructure, so that it will be easy and convenient to get to the center“, says Yazov.
- There is too little talk about the new flights at Plovdiv Airport. There will already be flights to Milan and Bratislava. In 2026, they plan to develop it with up to 8 destinations. “This will become extremely interesting at some point, because a lot of people, having this fast transport connection with central Europe, will prefer to move to live in Plovdiv“, expects Yazov and adds: “I expect that if Plovdiv Airport develops, traffic to the city will increase. This will open up new cargo areas, new hotels, new AirBnb apartments to rent and many people will come to see Plovdiv or move to live“.
- The expansion of the Ring Road. This may be the slowest project of all, but it will improve the way and speed of movement to and from the city. It will reduce traffic. “This is a TOP project for me. Many warehouses, factories, shops, shopping centers will develop around the Ring Road itself. There will also be many residential complexes that will appear in Markovo and Belashtitsa. In this way, the geography of the city will expand“, the specialist predicts.
- The project on “Petar Dinekov“ Blvd. is little known. There, the entire neighborhood behind the Central Station is scheduled to be demolished and everything will be rebuilt. Mainly office buildings, most likely residential complexes. It is in the city center.
„I expect a bright future for Plovdiv. The municipality has started to do its job. Although the traffic is tragic, you will see that in 5-6 years all this will have happened and the city will become more attractive and will open up to even more European and, hopefully, institutional investors and it will become an even more pleasant place to live“, concludes Yazov.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen at imot.bg