Why are foreigners selling property in Bulgaria again?

Why Foreigners Are Selling Bulgarian Property Again: A Trend Analysis

In recent years, the Bulgarian real estate market has been experiencing significant changes. According to the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), foreign investors, particularly Russians, are once again actively selling their properties in the country. This is due to a number of economic and geopolitical factors.

Decline in real estate investment

One of the key factors is the sharp decline in foreign direct investment in Bulgaria. From January to July 2023, net foreign investment in real estate was negative, reaching -€9.9 million. Overall, the net investment in recent months was -€1.6 million. These data indicate a general trend of foreign investors leaving the market.

Total foreign investment in Bulgaria

Despite this, the total volume of foreign direct investment in the country for the period January-July 2024 remained positive, amounting to €604.3 million. However, this is a significant decline compared to the same period last year, when investment volume amounted to €2.5 billion. The drop of €76% demonstrates the scale of the problem.

In July 2024, the inflow of foreign investment reached 171.6 million euros, which is also less than 569 million euros in July 2023.

Leaders in investment volumes

Several countries continue to actively invest in Bulgaria. From January to July 2024, the largest sources of foreign direct investment were the Netherlands (€269.5 million), Austria (€225 million), and Greece (€160.5 million). These countries remain key players in the Bulgarian market.

On the other hand, the countries with the largest investment outflows include Russia, with a negative net flow of -€184.4 million, and Poland, with an outflow of -€84.8 million. This suggests that political and economic instability in these countries may be influencing their decisions to sell real estate in Bulgaria.