The Bulgarian real estate market continued to cool sharply: in the third quarter of 2026, 45,312 transactions were registered in the country, marking the lowest figure since at least 2005, the earliest year for which comparable data from the Bulgarian Registry Agency is available.
Compared to July–September 2025, when 58,184 transactions were recorded, market volume contracted by 22.1%. For the first time since 2010, the number of transactions in the third quarter fell below 50,000.
The decline affected nearly the entire country. An increase in the number of transactions was recorded in only six of the 113 cities included in the statistics. Among them were Blagoevgrad, where sales rose by 19.8%, and Gotse Delchev, with an 11.2% increase.
In Sofia, 7,282 transactions were recorded in the third quarter, 21.2% fewer than a year earlier. In the Burgas region, the figure fell by 14.3% to 2,047 transactions. Both markets have effectively returned to 2023 levels.
In the Plovdiv region, the number of transactions fell by 23.9% to 3,356, the lowest level since 2013. In Varna, the decline was 26.3%, and the number of transactions fell below 3,000 for the first time since 2015.
An even sharper decline was observed in a number of resort and regional markets. In Nessebar, which also includes transactions in Sunny Beach, the number of transactions fell by 37%. In Razlog, which includes the Bansko market, the decline was 30.4%; in Smolyan, 30.7%; and in Chepelare, nearly 40%.
From January through September 2026, 129,431 transactions were recorded in Bulgaria, which is nearly 19% fewer than a year earlier. By comparison, 159,338 transactions were completed during the same period in 2025, 152,316 in 2024, and 153,109 in 2023.
However, the decline in the number of transactions has not yet been accompanied by a drop in prices. According to data from the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, in the second quarter of 2026, housing prices rose by 15.5% year-over-year and by 4.5% compared to the first quarter. Bulgaria ranked second in the EU in terms of the annual growth rate of housing prices.
Consequently, an unusual situation is unfolding in the market: the number of transactions is falling sharply, but prices continue to rise. This may indicate a decrease in the supply of high-quality properties, a high proportion of cash buyers, and price inertia following the strong growth of recent years.
Official source: Bulgarian Registry Agency – Property Registry Statistics.
The Bulgarian real estate market continued to cool sharply: in the third quarter of 2026, 45,312 transactions were registered in the country, marking the lowest figure since at least 2005, according to comparable data from the Bulgarian Registry Agency.
Compared to July–September 2025, when 58,184 transactions were recorded, market volume shrank by 22.1%. For the first time since 2010, the number of transactions in the third quarter fell below 50,000.
The decline affected nearly the entire country. An increase in the number of transactions was recorded in only six of the 113 cities included in the statistics. Among them were Blagoevgrad, where sales rose by 19.8%, and Gotse Delchev, with an increase of 11.2%.
In Sofia, 7,282 transactions were recorded in the third quarter, which is 21.2% less than a year earlier. In the Burgas region, the figure fell by 14.3% to 2,047 transactions. Both markets have effectively returned to 2023 levels.
An even sharper decline was recorded in a number of resort and regional markets. In Nessebar, which also includes transactions in Sunny Beach, the number of transactions fell by 37%. In Razlog, which includes the Bansko market, the decline was 30.4%; in Smolyan, 30.7%; and in Chepelare, nearly 40%.
From January through September 2026, 129,431 transactions were registered in Bulgaria, which is nearly 19% fewer than a year earlier. By comparison, 159,338 transactions were concluded during the same period in 2025, 152,316 in 2024, and 153,109 in 2023.
However, the decline in the number of transactions has not yet been accompanied by a drop in prices. According to data from the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, in the second quarter of 2026, housing prices rose by 15.5% year-over-year and by 4.5% compared to the first quarter. Bulgaria ranked second in the EU in terms of the annual growth rate of housing prices. Consequently, an unusual situation is unfolding in the market: the number of transactions is falling sharply, but prices continue to rise. This may indicate a reduction in the supply of high-quality properties, a high proportion of cash buyers, as well as price inertia following significant growth in recent years.
Over the most recent available period—from October 2025 to March 2026—approximately 15,800 housing purchase and sale agreements were concluded in Kyiv, according to data from the National Bank of Ukraine, citing the National Information Systems. This is the highest figure among the country’s regions.
By comparison, approximately 19,100 transactions were registered in the capital from January through September 2025. In the Kyiv region, 17,000 contracts were signed during this period; in the Dnipropetrovsk region, 16,800; and in the Kharkiv region, 14,000.
The NBU notes that in the fourth quarter of 2025, overall activity in Ukraine’s housing market was the highest since 2022; however, in the first quarter of 2026, the number of transactions declined significantly. Cumulatively over the last four quarters, housing sales increased by 11% year-over-year.
The NBU’s figures cover housing purchase and sale agreements in both the primary and secondary markets; therefore, they should not be equated solely with sales of apartments in new construction projects.
Shareholders of PJSC “Yuria” (trademark “Voloshkove Pole”) have preliminarily approved significant transactions with AB “Pivdenny” totaling up to 900 million UAH, the company reported in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
The relevant decision was adopted at the general meeting of shareholders on July 2, and the minutes of the voting results were signed on July 7.
As noted in the announcement, the prior consent covers the conclusion of loan and other financial agreements with the bank, as well as amendments to existing agreements, specifically regarding financing limits, terms, interest rates, and fees.
In a separate resolution, the shareholders approved the general agreement on the provision of banking services, concluded on August 29, 2025, between PJSC “Yuria” and LLC “Pervomaisky Milk Canning Plant.” It provides for the possibility of obtaining loans, credit lines, guarantees, letters of credit, and other banking services with a maximum limit of 300 million UAH. The deadline for fulfilling obligations under the agreement is set for August 28, 2030.
The maximum aggregate value of transactions for which shareholders have given their prior consent is 900 million UAH, or 86.7% of the company’s total assets as of the end of 2025. The market value of the master agreement is estimated at 300 million UAH, which corresponds to 28.9% of the company’s total assets.
As previously reported, in June, the shareholders decided that PJSC “Yuria” may enter into significant transactions with Pivdenny Bank for a total amount of up to 900 million UAH, in addition to the transactions already concluded with a limit of 300 million UAH.
PJSC “Yuria” is the legal successor to the Cherkasy City Dairy Plant, with a design capacity of 25 metric tons of raw milk processing per day. It ranks among the top ten largest Ukrainian milk producers.
The dairy producer, operating under the “Voloshkove Pole” brand, invested EUR 1.5 million in 2023 to install a Tetra Pak production line in order to double its output of ultra-pasteurized milk. In 2024, the company invested EUR 1.6 million in modernizing the production facilities of its enterprises and launched a new production line for glazed cheese curds.
The company has two subsidiaries: “Yuria-2”—a network of brand-name stores and kiosks in Cherkasy—and “Yuria-Trans”—a trucking company that delivers raw materials and supplies for processing, products to retail outlets, and provides other transportation services. Its raw material supply area covers the Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Kyiv, and Vinnytsia regions. Milk is collected from over 200 settlements.
The company’s beneficiaries are Oleksandr and Andriy Tabalov.
According to the annual report, “Yuriya’s” revenue in 2025 grew by 27.8%—to 2 billion 200.95 million UAH—and net profit amounted to 62.68 million UAH, compared to a net loss of 121.95 million UAH the previous year.
As noted in the company’s reports, in 2025 a master agreement was signed with Pivdenny Bank for a credit line with a maximum financing limit of 300 million UAH; from September through December 2025, 67.72 million UAH was drawn down. As of the end of March this year, this amount had increased to 90 million UAH, with a loan rate of 17.5 million UAH.
The average price per hectare of agricultural land in Ukraine has nearly tripled in the five years since the market opened—rising from about 30,000 UAH to 87,900 UAH, according to an analytical review by the KSE Center for Food and Land Use Research, dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the opening of the agricultural land market.
According to the study, since the market opened on July 1, 2021, more than 512,800 transactions for the sale of agricultural land have been concluded in Ukraine, covering a total area of 1.154 million hectares and amounting to 51.4 billion UAH.
The average price per hectare during this period was 66,400 UAH, rising to 87,900 UAH in 2026.
The authors of the study note that although the nominal average price of land nearly tripled, when adjusted for inflation, its real value increased by approximately 25%, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of about 4.6%.
The most expensive agricultural land over the five years the market has been operating was sold in Ivano-Frankivsk (139 thousand UAH/ha), Lviv (123.4 thousand UAH/ha), and Kyiv (107.1 thousand UAH/ha) regions
The lowest prices were recorded in Luhansk (24.9 thousand UAH/ha), Kherson (30.5 thousand UAH/ha), Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia (37 thousand UAH/ha each) regions.
The largest areas of land that changed hands over the five years the market has been operating were recorded in Poltava (107.6 thousand hectares), Dnipropetrovsk (94.8 thousand hectares), and Kharkiv (89.4 thousand hectares) regions.
The study’s authors note that after the market came to a near standstill in the spring of 2022 due to restrictions on access to state registries, activity gradually resumed, and by the second half of 2023, the market had stabilized.
The study also notes that the opening of the market on January 1, 2024, to legal entities with the right to purchase up to 10 thousand hectares did not confirm fears of a sharp increase in demand.
“Despite the concerns of farmers and landowners, the expansion of access did not lead to an abnormal surge in demand—the number of transactions and the area of land sold grew gradually. Although the absolute peak in activity was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025—nearly 35,000 transactions covering an area of about 70,000 hectares—by the first quarter of 2026, the figures had returned to the usual 2024 level (26,000–28,000 transactions). “This indicates that the market has stabilized and that buyer and seller activity is predictable,” the study notes.
The study was prepared by the Center for Food and Land Use Research at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE Agrocenter) based on data from the State Geocadastre and the state-owned enterprise “Prozorro.Sales.”
As part of its 19th package of sanctions, the European Union will impose a ban on transactions with five Russian credit institutions from November 12: Alfa Bank, MTS Bank, Absolut Bank, Zemsky Bank, and NKO Istina, according to an EU statement.
In addition, Belarusian Alfa Bank, Sberbank, VTB, Belgazprombank, BelVEB, as well as VTB’s subsidiary in Kazakhstan and VTB’s branch in Shanghai have been added to the EU sanctions list.
BAN, BANK, BELARUS, EUROPEAN UNION, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SANCTION, TRANSACTION
