The Bulgarian real estate market is cooling in terms of the number of transactions, but not in terms of prices. A total of 45,312 sales were registered in the third quarter of 2026, down 1.4% from the previous quarter and 22.1% below the result for the same period in 2025. This is the weakest third-quarter result since 2019.
For the first nine months of the year, registered sales totaled 129,431. The decrease compared with January–September 2025 amounts to around 30,000 transactions, or 19%. Thus, the nine-month result has also reached its lowest level since 2019.
Decline in all major cities
The decline covers the four largest cities. In Sofia, 7,282 transactions were registered in the third quarter, while the total for the nine-month period was 23,685, representing a year-on-year decline of 16.8%. In Plovdiv, sales in July–September totaled 3,354, while sales for the first nine months amounted to 10,612, or 11.8% fewer than in the same period of 2025.
Varna recorded the largest year-on-year decline among the four cities. A total of 2,853 transactions were registered there in the third quarter and 8,363 from the beginning of the year through the end of September–a decline of 21.6%. In Burgas, sales during the quarter totaled 2,047, while the decrease for the nine-month period was 18.8%. The data for the cities comes from the Registry Agency.
Prices continue to rise
Against the backdrop of weaker activity, home prices rose by 4.5% in the second quarter compared with the first and by 15.5% year on year, according to data from the National Statistical Institute. The largest quarterly increase was recorded in Plovdiv–5.8%, while Burgas registered a decline of 1.5%.
“Transactions are declining, but prices remain high and continue to rise,” commented Miroslav Vladimirov, a member of the Board of Directors of ERA Bulgaria. According to him, buyers are limiting their budgets and waiting, while sellers continue to expect the price they want. The slower realization of projects is prompting some construction companies to postpone the start of new developments.
According to Vladimirov, the more significant restructuring of the market is yet to come and will depend primarily on financing conditions. More than half of all transactions in the country are already carried out with bank financing, while in Sofia and the other major cities the share is even higher.
Interest rates will be the key factor in 2027
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rates in June and September 2026 by 25 basis points each time. Bulgarian banks have not yet fully passed this effect on to mortgage loans, but Vladimirov expects the change to be felt on the local market in 2027. More expensive financing would further limit the number of transactions and slow the pace of home price increases.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg