Housing

In the latest Eurostat data disclosed on Thursday, it's been unveiled that a significant 85% of Bulgarians resided in households owning their homes in the year 2022, marking a slight increase from the preceding year's 84.9%. This statistic presents an intriguing aspect of the housing landscape in the country.

As the warm summer months gave way to autumn, Bulgaria's real estate market witnessed a subtle shift. According to the latest analysis by "Arco Real Estate," a mild decline in housing prices was observed during the third quarter of the year. The data reveals that prospective homebuyers are approaching the market with increased sensibility, opting for prudence over impulsive decisions.

Preparations are in the final stage to launch a project that is designed to address the growing housing problem in Istanbul by developing 10,000 rental homes.

The Real Estate Investors Association (GYODER) in July first floated the idea of devising a new model to increase home supply in the country's largest city.

The problem of many people in finding affordable housing has become a pressing issue in almost all the major cities of the West. The government has taken and continues to take measures to support young would-be property owners or tenants.

The government plans to make total funding of 1.5 billion euros available over the coming years as part of its goal to reactivate social housing.

Homeowners who want to sell their properties in the market are now more willing to negotiate prices as existing home sales continue to decline.

Home sales plunged for a fifth month in a row in June. In the month, only 84,000 homes changed hands, pointing to a steep 44 percent decline from a year ago with existing home sales plunging more than 45 percent to around 58,000.

Huge projects are due to deliver new neighbourhoods in Prague. Photo: Central Group Priced out

In the Hungarian capital, buyers need more than 16 average annual salaries to buy a 75 square metre (m2) apartment. This means that if you start working at 23 and miraculously don't spend on anything else, at 40 you can own a home. This trend accelerated especially from 2015 on.

The growth of property rental rates and sale prices is showing no signs of abating, with the latter boosted also by the "My Home" government housing project.

Even though Milan Krajniak, the minister for labour, social affairs and family, recently vowed to compile a proposal to aid approximately 50,000 people in need who have been unable to cover their expenses due to high levels of inflation, Karova and her colleagues are afraid that some of the most vulnerable homeless people will not be able to benefit from the aid.

Alexandra Kárová

As long as demand is greater than supply, apartment prices will go up, architect Branka Bonjak tells RTS and reveals when prices are expected to start declining.