At the moment, Bulgarians are the main buyers of holiday seaside properties on the Southern Black Sea coast. The share of Bulgarian customers has been actively increasing in recent years. Thus, in the first months of 2024, houses and apartments on the Southern Black Sea coast are sold mainly to Bulgarians, and they make up about 90% of all buyers.
„The tendency for Bulgarians to dominate this market began during the pandemic and since then their share has grown with each passing year. The remaining 10% of buyers are mainly from countries such as Germany, Israel, Poland, but they are not so decisive for the market. That is why the planning of our projects is focused on the requirements of our compatriots. At the same time, their profile is becoming more diverse”, comments Ekaterina Zhelyapova, commercial director of Green Life Development.
In her words, until 5 years ago, Bulgarian buyers were mostly people over 50 years old. These are clients with saved funds who decide to invest them in real estate at a lower price and with less commitment to urban property. This group of buyers is still active today, but a new customer profile is confidently entering the market, according to the company.
„Young families with small children – people between 30 and 40 years old on average, are already the most stable group of customers with us. The factors for this are several – on the one hand, these people need a comfortable, safe and well-appointed place to spend the summer with their children, without requiring too much research and advance organization. The other factor is in the increasingly expensive alternative – the prices of hotel nights are increasing significantly, and this makes the purchase of your own seaside home financially justified, commented Ekaterina Zhelyapova, the company's commercial director.
According to her, rising prices for hotel vacations and short-term rental accommodations make this option an expensive option for younger customers. This motivates some of them to look for a long-term solution – in the purchase of a vacation home. The prices of this type of property in recent years have demonstrated a more moderate rate of growth, with the rise expected to intensify next year, as they lag behind price growth in Sofia. Compared to apartments in the capital, the prices of vacation properties are 20% lower.
Today, a 1-bedroom apartment in Sozopol starts from 75,000 EUR, and a 2-bedroom apartment – from EUR 95,000, with this value reaching EUR 130,000-140,000 for the more functional properties. The houses in the complex in Sozopol start at price levels of 280,000 euros.
„The growth in the prices of holiday apartments on the Southern Black Sea coast is insignificant against the background of the rise of urban housing, which has exceeded 35-40% since 2021. This makes the properties a “second home” a good and safe option for investing savings, especially when a given complex offers both conditions for children and full-fledged recreation for different generations, says Zhelyapova.
And he adds: “We can say that the holiday market is currently undervalued amid the euphoria of urban housing, but that makes investing in it a sensible move for more resourceful buyers.
Despite the active presence of Bulgarian customers, Russian-speaking holiday home owners are no longer actively selling their properties. The secondary market is in a lull phase.
You can see detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by cities and neighborhoods HERE