Interest in property along the Black Sea coastline in Bulgaria has picked up this year, after prices for coastal properties plunged by more than -50% from peak levels.

Almost all of the deals for Black Sea coastal properties in the first half of this year involved Russian buyers, according to analysis by the real estate company Bulgarian Properties. Brokers and real estate officials believe the reason for this trend was a weakening of the Bulgarian Lev against the Russian Ruble by around 10% in the first half of this year (and 20% compared to early-2009) plus the current lower property prices.

In the past five years, over 150,000 Russians have purchased apartments or houses in Bulgaria and most of these buyers are middle-class families from Moscow and St Petersburg.

The boom in Russian property buyers replaces English and Irish buyers, who flooded the Black Sea and mountain resort areas during the property peak in 2006-2008. Many of those English and Irish buyers are currently selling to Russians.

However, a study by Bulgarian Properties found that prices in the first half of the year have dropped by -5%, compared to a slide of -10% in 2010, but the number of deals were up by 50% compared to a year earlier.