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Bulgarian Housing Prices Rise 15.5% as Property Transactions Fall

Friday, Sep 25, 2026

Bulgaria’s residential property market continues to see strong price growth, even as the number of completed property transactions declines.

According to preliminary data from Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute (NSI), residential property prices increased by 15.5% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year. At the same time, the number of property sales fell by 18.1% year-on-year.

The figures highlight an interesting development in the Bulgarian housing market: prices are continuing to rise despite a reduction in transaction activity.

Prices continue to increase

Compared with the first quarter of 2026, residential property prices increased by 4.5% nationwide during the second quarter. This followed a stronger quarterly increase of 6.2% in the first three months of the year.

Among Bulgaria’s major cities, the largest quarterly increase was recorded in Plovdiv, at 5.8%. Stara Zagora followed with 2.9%, while prices increased by 2.8% in Varna and 2.4% in Sofia. Burgas was the exception, recording a 1.5% decrease compared with the previous quarter.

The longer-term trend is also significant. According to Economic.bg's analysis of the NSI data, residential property prices have increased by approximately 33.4% over the two years to the second quarter of 2026.

Fewer transactions

While prices continue to climb, the number of completed sales has been moving in the opposite direction.

Property transactions have now declined on an annual basis for three consecutive quarters. After a 22.5% decline in the final quarter of 2025, transactions fell by 18.5% in the first quarter of 2026 and by a further 18.1% in the second quarter.

This does not necessarily mean that property prices are beginning to fall. Instead, the latest figures suggest that buyers are completing fewer transactions while prices remain relatively high.

The trend is particularly noticeable in the existing-home market. Prices of existing properties increased by 17.6% year-on-year, while sales of these properties declined by 19.2%. For newly built homes, prices increased by 12.3%, while transactions fell by 15.4%.

Bulgaria remains one of the EU's faster-growing housing markets

Bulgaria also continues to record strong residential price growth compared with the European Union as a whole.

Eurostat data for the first quarter of 2026 showed a 14.8% annual increase in Bulgarian house prices, compared with an average increase of 5.1% across the EU. Bulgaria recorded the second-highest annual growth among countries with available data, behind Portugal.

The latest NSI figures for the second quarter put Bulgaria's annual housing-price increase even higher, at 15.5%. Eurostat's second-quarter figures are expected to provide a further comparison with other European markets.

What does this mean for the property market?

The latest data point to a market where property prices remain under upward pressure, while transaction volumes are becoming weaker.

For buyers, this may mean that finding the right property at the right price remains important, particularly as prices have continued to increase despite lower transaction volumes.

For sellers, the figures show that strong price growth has not disappeared, although market activity is more subdued than it was previously.

The situation will be worth watching over the coming quarters, particularly to see whether the decline in transactions eventually puts downward pressure on prices or whether limited supply and other market factors continue to support current price levels.