Russian develop the real estate market on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

---

Almost all of the deals with real estates on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria in the first half of the year were involved by Russian buyers. Brokers and representatives of real estate agents believe that it stems from the weak euro and the lower prices of property.
The interest of the Russian to Bulgaria has to do with the strong cultural ties and the easy integration due to the similarities between the languages.
In the past five years, over 200 000 Russians have purchased apartments or houses in Bulgaria, which accounts for an investment worth more than 700 million euros. Most of these buyers are from the middle-class families from Moscow and St. Petersburg. These Russian citizens pay taxes in Bulgaria. Some of them are not only tourists, they come and start to live in the country.
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. English and Irish buyers are currently selling their property to Russians.
Some of them are forced to sell at prices 50% - 60% lower than what they paid, because they are unable to cover their mortgages.
Unlike the English and Irish, Russian, does not count for credit when they are buying real estate.
Relative to the prices of real estate in Bulgaria there is a large fluctuation. Furnished apartments near the sea are for sale for about 1,000 euros / sq. m. The further the property is from the beach and the sea, the lower the price falls of up to 300 euro / sq. m.