Real estate players abroad: Where in the world are Bulgarians investing in housing?

67 – this is the number of countries in which Bulgarians declared that they owned real estate last year. This concerns over 100 Bulgarians who provided information about their holdings in their annual tax returns under Article 50 of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA).

This is according to data from the National Revenue Agency (NRA) provided specifically for Economic.bg.

According to statistics, between 2019 and 2024, Bulgarians bought increasingly more real estate abroad. As expected, Greece is the favorite destination, which is also a popular summer vacation spot.

Spain and Germany, where there are quite a few Bulgarian expats, are next on the list, followed by Austria and Italy.

Interestingly, the UK is also on the list of preferred investment destinations, even after Brexit and the visa requirement. Since April this year, visits to the country for up to six months require a special electronic permit, regardless of whether it is for tourism or business. However, this does not allow permanent residence in the United Kingdom or work there.

The National Revenue Agency warns that there are Bulgarians with properties in different countries, as well as some with several properties in one country. In addition, one property may be owned by several people.

The final result may be higher because some of the data falls within the scope of statistical confidentiality under the Statistics Act.

Why abroad and not in Bulgaria

In recent years property prices in the country have risen dramatically, and yet many Bulgarians are investing in them, helped by persistently low mortgage rates.

Another factor contributing to the active real estate market is the conservative financial culture of Bulgarians, who traditionally prefer to invest in something tangible rather than, for example, stocks, currencies, raw materials, etc.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dragomir Stefanov from the University of National and World Economy, some Bulgarians have turned to Greece because of “the overbuilding of our Black Sea coast.”

Northern Greece and the Halkidiki peninsula are full of Bulgarians who buy vacation properties there, where they spend part of the summer or all their holidays. This is why there are traffic jams on the highways during the holidays; these are natural processes,“ Stefanov said for Economic.bg.

He explained that no matter how much people talk about the ‘difficult’ situation of Bulgarians, ”the population of our country has never lived so well in its entire history."

According to him, Bulgarians now have good incomes that generate large savings, and statistics from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) confirm this claim. It shows that household savings in banks amounted to BGN 91.5 billion at the end of April 2025, representing 42.8% of GDP.

This generates investment in second and third homes, vacation properties, etc.," explained Stefanov.

Another issue is the money hidden under mattresses and mattresses, which financiers suspect is just as much, possibly in other currencies. This money, often of unclear origin, has led to the belief that the real estate market is a money laundering scheme, which will intensify before Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone, expected on January 1, 2026. Within a week, Brussels is expected to give its assessment of our country's readiness for the euro, which is currently expected to be positive.

This text was translated by DeepL