In recent years, when discussing the residential property market, the emphasis has been on new construction - where it was built, what are the prices, who are the types of buyers, what are their requirements. But what is happening on the secondary market?
It turns out that it is also quite dynamic. It is not talked about so much, since the number of offers is quite limited. And the limitation comes from the fact that many owners have withdrawn from the market. One of the reasons for the withdrawal of the offer from the market is that in this case most transactions are related to the sale of the home and the purchase of another. However, from this double deal, clients, in the role of sellers, can make a profit, but entering the role of buyers will definitely be on the losing side.
“The fear of these sellers is that they are selling a valuable property in a good location, but then the purchase is filled with many compromises. It is precisely because they cannot buy a subsequent good home that they withdraw from the market“, says Angelina Dobreva, founder and co-owner of ag. RealNet.
The other reason why properties are most often sold on the secondary market is inheritance. “This part of the market is driven by a change in marital status - divorce. In this case, the parties receive money from the sale. There is no subsequent transaction with the property and this may currently limit the number of offers on the secondary market“, she adds.
The migration process from a smaller to a larger city, even from country to country, is also among the main factors driving the secondary housing market. “In the last two years or so, buyers (similar to 1993-1997, when they sold many properties to emigrate), are now returning to buy. We are constantly receiving inquiries from people who intend to return from abroad or have already done so. These include their children who were not born in Bulgaria. Some from America prefer to live in Europe“, adds Dobreva.
In the secondary market housing segment, the question arises whether the buyer should focus on a property for renovation or already renovated. Ready-made and furnished properties are preferred by clients who have a specific deadline for moving in. These are also people who do not want to invest money and nerves in long renovations and, above all, want to avoid the headaches with craftsmen.
On the other hand, people who have more funds prefer a home for renovation to be sure that they will make a quality renovation and control the process.
“Many of the renovated homes are not renovated qualitatively, they only have a vision. There are also those that are very well renovated and even well furnished“, explains Dobreva.
Transactions with homes on the secondary market are realized in an average of 3 weeks. The condition is that the price is in line with the market. If in 2022-2023. there were offers above the offer prices, today is not the case. If there are discounts from the offer value, then in the best case, they are no more than 5%.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen HERE