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Construction sites in Bulgaria are noticeably busier this year than a year ago. Property sales, however, have fallen. That is the picture painted by the latest data from Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI) and the Registry Agency, the government body that registers every property transaction.
Construction sites are busier
In July 2026, the volume of construction work on buildings was 9.5% higher than in July last year. The NSI published the figures on 10 September; they are still preliminary.
It is worth being clear about what this indicator measures. It is not the number of completed buildings, nor the number of new projects, but the amount of work done on sites already under way: statisticians calculate it from the hours builders worked during the month.
Growth has held since February, with more work every month than a year earlier. The pace is gradually slowing, though: in February the increase was almost 17%, in summer around 10%.
One caveat: this index does not separate residential from non-residential buildings; it covers all buildings, not only housing.
More new housing projects
What is happening with housing specifically is shown by other NSI data, on building permits and construction starts in the second quarter of 2026.
Municipalities issued building permits for 11,499 homes, 14% more than in the second quarter of 2025. Construction actually started on buildings with 8,913 homes, also up on a year earlier, by 10.5%.
In the same quarter, 5,932 homes were completed, in buildings that received Act 16 (the certificate confirming the building is finished and fit for acceptance) or a permit for use. This quarter, the number of homes in newly started projects was roughly one and a half times the number completed. On its own, this does not prove that the volume of unfinished construction is growing, but together with the rise in permits and construction starts it points to an expanding future supply.
But fewer sales
Transactions tell the opposite story. According to the Registry Agency, 45,965 property sale contracts were registered in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 56,010 a year earlier, 17.9% fewer. Sales fell in all major cities, most sharply in Burgas and Nessebar (details in the table at the end). These figures cover all types of property, not just homes.
Prices, meanwhile, are still rising. According to the NSI house price index, which is also published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, new homes cost 12.5% more in the first quarter of 2026 than a year earlier. These figures are also preliminary.
What this means for buyers
For buyers, this combination looks broadly positive: construction activity remains high, while overall activity in the transactions market has dropped noticeably. Over time, this may increase competition for buyers, especially among developers with a large stock of unsold homes.
But the data do not yet suggest this will show up in prices right away. The latest price figures are for the first quarter, and they show double-digit growth. If you are choosing a home in a building under construction, the drop in sales is an argument when negotiating a discount or an instalment plan, not a reason to expect homes to get cheaper.
By city
| City | Homes in permits issued, Q2 2026 | Sales, Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Sofia | 2,878 | −16.7% |
| Plovdiv | 1,941 | −7.0% |
| Varna | 1,316 | −16.7% |
| Burgas | 1,660 | −23.9% |
| Nessebar | part of Burgas province | −28.2% |
The NSI counts permits by province, while the Registry Agency counts sales by registry office; their boundaries do not fully coincide.
Sources: NSI, "Construction production indices — July 2026" (10.09.2026), "Building permits issued and construction started — Q2 2026", "Short-term statistics on residential buildings — Q2 2026, preliminary data"; Registry Agency, registration statistics for Q2 2025 and Q2 2026; Eurostat, house price index.
