Housing prices in Bulgaria are rising ten times faster than in the EU
At the beginning of this year, housing prices in Bulgaria continued to rise rapidly, while across the European Union, the market experienced a sharp slowdown. From January to March, housing prices in the country increased by nearly 10% on an annual basis, according to data from Eurostat. In the EU, the growth continues to dwindle and falls below 1%. Although in Bulgaria, the momentum is also slowing down after recording record growth in the middle of last year, the pace of increase remains among the highest in Europe.
Under the pressure of high interest rates, housing prices in the EU registered a second consecutive decline on a quarterly basis, this time by 0.7%, following a 1.4% decrease in the previous period. Most affected are leading markets like Germany and France, as well as Luxembourg, Finland, Austria, among others. Meanwhile, compared to the end of last year, prices in Bulgaria have increased by 1.6%. The European Central Bank recently warned that high mortgage interest rates are making housing increasingly inaccessible and unattractive for investors, and a 'chaotic decline' in prices is possible. The Baltic states, Spain, and Portugal are mentioned as the most vulnerable to such a development, where loans with floating interest rates have the largest share.
Content from CAPITAL.