Sofia ranks 30th among 150 cities in the world in terms of rising residential property prices, according to the Residential Cities Index. Residential property prices in the capital rose 5.9% last year, with an average increase of 3.2% for all cities in the ranking. It turns out that the real estate market in Sofia performs better than in most major cities around the world.
Budapest regains the title of the city with the fastest rise in apartment prices in the world. Residential real estate in the Hungarian capital has risen in price by 24.1% over the year due to strong demand, supported by low mortgage rates, strong employment and economic growth. After Budapest, the Chinese cities of Xian and Wuhan are in the top ten (data for Wuhan are before the Covid-19 crisis) with price increases of 15.9% and 14.9% respectively on an annual basis: Zagreb (+ 14.5%), St. Petersburg (+ 14.2%), Warsaw (+ 13.1%), Athens (+ 11.8%), Luxembourg (+ 11.4%), Lyon (+ 11.2%), Bratislava + 10.2%) and Moscow (+ 10%).
Just before Sofia in the ranking are Mexico City, Montreal and Phoenix, and after our capital are Halifax and Izmir. In over 78% of the 150 cities included in the ranking, a rise in housing prices has been registered in the last year. Бuying a home in these cities is a great opportunity to keep available capital and achieve good returns.
The yield on housing in Sofia last year reached 7%. Purchases of apartments in the capital for investment purposes have increased and now account for 24% of all transactions. Most investors prefer to rent out their apartments for a long time, instead of relying on overnight stays from foreigners, commented brokers. In the apartments for the guests the profitability is not guaranteed.