This Balkan country has the fastest growing property prices in 2024 in the EU

It also places second when considering a year-on-year basis in housing costs

Eurostat has released its quarterly report on the housing market situation in the EU and it shows that in the first quarter of 2024 it was Bulgaria that’s recorded the highest increase in prices compared to the last quarter of the previous year.

According to the European statistical authority, the increase of 7.1% seen in the Balkan country represents the highest such there since the last quarter of 2007. The reason behind this is not only the growth in the country’s economy, which has traditionally been ranked as the poorest in the EU but can also be attributed to a host of factors – some of which are also present in other Eastern European countries.

Economic stability and growth have boosted consumer confidence, leading to increased demand for property. However, the Bulgarian National Bank has also kept the interest rates low, in contrast to the Eurozone, which has encouraged the taking out of mortgages.

Investing in property has traditionally been seen as the safest bet by Bulgarians and that hasn’t changed much in recent decades. As a result, increasing urbanization in the largest cities – Sofia and Plovdiv – has not been able to keep in pace with the demand for housing.

Eastern Europe housing making strides

In terms of annual price changes the Balkan country also places near the top of the ranking, coming in at second after Poland. The respective percentage changes are +18 for Poland and +16 for Bulgaria.

A brief look at the graphs showing the housing market price fluctuations across the EU shows that inflation surges are most prominent in Eastern European countries overall, which are still aiming to close the economic gap between them and their Western counterparts.

For a long-term view of this factor, it’s worth noting that housing prices in 7 EU countries have more than doubled since 2010. And the top five of these countries are in the East – Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Czechia. In the first three of these countries, rental prices have also more than doubled in the past 14 years.