Just 3.6% of Bulgarians' wealth is invested in shares, Industry Watch states in a report on households wealth in Q2 released today.

Just 1% of households' wealth is invested in mutual funds, compared with 1.5% at the end of 2007. Investments in high-yield assets (other than cash and deposits) have grown 4 times in the past 8 years.

According to Industry Watch, at the end of June, the financial wealth of Bulgarian households stands at 32 billion leva (16.3 bln euros), which is 55% of the nation's GDP. The figure is also 23% up from the same period last year, which beats inflation .

Wealth in deposits and cash is up to 87%, due to the global financial crisis and the growing number of deposits.

In Q2 home prices in Bulgaria went up 32%, according to official data, which is among the highest appreciation rates in the world, said Industry Watch's Krasen Yotov. Bulgarians own homes worth a total of 73 billion euros, which is due to the rising home prices and number of homes. Owners in Sofia account for 1/3 of the figure above.

The total wealth of households (financial and real estate) is up to 175 billion leva, or 90 billion euros.

Economists expect Bulgarians' wealth to continue to grow at a fast pace. Analysts say that the rising numbers of deposits is something temporary until the rehabilitation of capital markets.

In the mid-term perspective Industry Watch are expecting a higher interest in high-yield products and a sustaining of the pace of credit expansion .