October 2023 / Bulgaria

Compared to 107 cities worldwide, Sofia managed to rank ninth in terms of the fastest house price growth in the second quarter, according to Knight Frank's Global Residential Cities Index. This significant result highlights the dynamic growth of the real estate market in the capital and the country as a whole. With a year-on-year growth rate of 8.8%, Sofia surpasses some European and global capitals, such as the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, and ranks just after Budapest.

The most impressive results were achieved in Ankara and Istanbul, which top the list with house price growth of 105.9% and 85.1%, respectively. This accelerated growth rate makes them global leaders in the real estate market. With a steady increase in house prices, cities like Dubai, Vilnius, Zagreb, Jerusalem, and Athens also show impressive figures, placing them in the top 10 cities with the fastest housing price growth in the second quarter.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Bulgaria for the first eight months of the year have reached 2.2 billion euros, an increase of 33% compared to the same period of the previous year. These are the new data published by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). BNB estimated that in August alone, the investment flow was positive by 171 million euros, an increase from the 113 million recorded in August 2022.

The share capital has increased by 355.8 million euros, while the 'reinvestment of profits' category saw a positive figure of 1.7 billion euros.

The largest net positive flows of direct investments into the country from January to August 2023 came from the Netherlands (576.6 million euros), Belgium (273.7 million euros), and Germany (219.4 million euros), while the largest net negative flows were towards Switzerland (42.4 million euros) and Romania (30.1 million euros).