Activity on the property market in Sofia began to pick up pace in January as many buyers looking for homes at the end of 2008 had postponed the purchase till January.

The number of deals fell by more than 50% in February, but rose again March reaching the January levels again.

Most purchases in Sofia are for properties in the areas of Dragalevtsi, Lozenets, Mladost, Vitosha, and the downtown, analysis by Bulgarian Properties reveals.

The average home price so far this year is almost the same as in 2008 - at around 90 000 euro (compared with 96 200 euros last year). This is explained by the fact that buyers with available cash are taking advantage of the low prices and are buying larger and better quality homes.

There is a lot of interest in properties priced between 30 000 and 50 000 euros but the buyers of such are usually people who rely on bank credits and this is why few transactions have been closed on this segment in Q1.

While activity on the market in Sofia is high, sales in Varna have been quite low so far this year. Buyers in Varna are more cautious and the agreed prices there are quite lower than in 2008. Last year the average price in Varna stood at 107 500 euros, which was higher than in Sofia. In Q1 this year, however, it amounts to just 70 000.

As far as rents are concerned, the average price has registered a slight decline between December 2008 and January 2009, due to the effects of the global financial crisis.

Rents rose slightly in February, but dropped again in March. Another tendency we witnessed lately - rents in Varna are equaling those in Sofia.