A total of 56,483 deals were sealed on Bulgaria real estate market in the first quarter of 2008, a survey carried out by Fros real estate company shows. The figure represents an increase of 0.24% compared to the number of transactions sealed in the first three months of 2007.

Foreign direct investments in the sector amounted to 447.2 mln leva in the first quarter of 2008, compared to 479.6 mln euros for the year-ago period. Residential property prices in Bulgaria went up by 12% in the first half of the year.

Rental prices also went up considerably in the first half of the year with Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo boasting the highest increases.

Two-bedroom apartments have been enjoying the strongest interest so far this year. The demand for three-bedroom apartments also remains brisk.

The return of the real estate market in Bulgaria stood at 5.67% as at the end of June, Foros data show. The return in Sofia amounted to 5.65%, while Veliko Tarnovo provided the highest return of 8.6%.

Bulgarians use bank loans to fund a considerable part of their real estate property purchases.

A considerable amount of newly-built residential properties was launched on the real estate market in the first half of 2008, which continues the trend form the recent years.

A total of 18,864 residential properties with a combined space of 1.52 mln. sq. m were built in Bulgaria last year. The number of permits for the construction of new buildings issued in the first quarter of the year amounted to 2,267 (14,101 residential properties), compared to 2,442 buildings (14,101 residential properties) for the year-ago period.

The number of gated residential complexes and large-scale residential buildings with adjacent office and commercial units that are under construction has also gone up.