The average prices of Bulgarian residential property has been predicted to hit rock-bottom in the first quarter of 2010 before levelling off and then picking up by the end of the year with prices likely to increase by +10%, according to Tihomir Tsakov of Aristo.

He has stated that if the economy doesn’t see any unexpected events the market will bottom out and then be spurred on by a slight drop in borrowing.

However, other major real estate agencies such as Colliers, Address and Foros disagreed, stating that prices will continue to fall during the first six months of 2010 by a predicted -10%, before levelling off in the second half of the year.

Tsvetelina Taseva, executive director of Address, believes that the market is reliant on which route the banks take e.g. if they choose to sell off foreclosed properties quickly as bad loans proliferate, property prices will come down. However, if they decide to hold on to them, the supply of good property will be reduced significantly.

According to the National Statistical Institute (NSI), average home prices slid to €548sqm for the first time since 2000.