A significant decrease of the offered prices of housing since the beginning of 2009 is evident in Burgas – 10,25%, and in Sofia – 9,71%.

In reality, the change is even bigger, because almost all deals are made after additional negotiation of the price. At times, it reaches about 20%.

The two-room housings of 60-70 square metres are the most sought type of housing. The most important factor in a purchase is currently the price. There is additional negotiation of the price for each deal, and it usually lowers the price by a fifth. This is mostly due to the large amount of offers on the market, which greatly exceeds the demand. As a result, buyers have a greater variety of choices compared to previous years.

Customers have more time to think over their purchase – the period for seeking a house increased to 2-6 months, compared to the usual 1-2 months period. The visits to each particular place also increased – from 4-8 in 2008, they’ve come to about 10.

Another factor for demand and purchases is the type of construction and degree of completion of the estate. At the moment, demand for estates in early stages of construction is almost non-existent, because such projects are deemed risky. Customers demand immaculate documentation for the estates to avoid all risks. All these conditions gave a rise to the demand for the currently cheap apartments in blocks of flats.

Since the beginning of 2009, the share of purchased apartments for personal needs compared to purchases as an investment has increased. Currently, the ratio is 85%:15%.

The core base of clients for the first half of 2009 have been Bulgarians and Russians. The latter have been overall hesitant in their purchases. They have also been very uncompromising customers.