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Bulgaria real estate prices inch real 2.2% in 2008

Thursday, Mar 05, 2009

Bulgaria is one of a handful of countries across the globe to see its property prices rise amid the economic meltdown last year, found the annual report of Global Property Guide, which gauges 32 property markets in the world.

Real estate prices in Bulgaria increased by a nominal 11.72%, or 2.2% adjusted to the annual inflation rate, ranking the country fourth after the UAE, China and Switzerland.

But the modest increase pales in comparison with figures from the previous year, when prices surged 11.7%.

The downtrend held in the final months of the year, with prices falling 5.3% quarter-on-quarter in October to December, according to the research.

Property prices crumbled a record 37% in Latvia and more than 20% in Lithuania and the USA. Britain, Iceland, Ukraine and Ireland saw prices slide by over 12% year-on-year. Only Germany and Switzerland managed to curb the slowdown.

Global Property Guide is downbeat about 2009 as well, citing concerns that mortgage lending will continue to thin out and economies will slow further all over the world. Yet another bottleneck are decisions by some governments to devaluate their currencies, which increases the cost of payment of properties sold mostly in euro and US dollars.

Forecasts that the global economy is headed for a 60-year low at 0.5% in 2009 are another nail in the property market’s coffin, according to the analysts.

Source: Dnevnik a.m.