Sofia ranks 34th in terms of prices for large apartments in the world ranking of 73 capitals, leaving Istanbul, Bucharest, Bangkok and Cairo behind.
By July 2026, the median price of a four-room apartment in Sofia reached 457,000 euros. According to this indicator, the capital of Bulgaria is ahead not only of Madrid, but also of Helsinki and Budapest, almost equaling Stockholm. At the same time, the price difference with neighboring Balkan capitals turned out to be significant: a three-bedroom apartment is 55% more expensive than in Zagreb, 71% more expensive than in Belgrade, and five times more expensive than in Skopje.
Analysts attribute this jump to the continuing imbalance between supply and demand, as well as to the general rise in real estate prices in the country. Eurostat data confirms the trend: Bulgaria ranks second in the European Union in terms of house price growth.
High purchase prices are accompanied by significant additional costs. The local tax alone for the purchase of a large apartment in Sofia is 3% of the transaction amount, which adds more than 13,700 euros to the budget, not counting notary fees and bank fees. The annual return on renting out such real estate is low - net profit rarely exceeds 1.5% due to maintenance costs and taxes. At the same time, Bulgaria retains one of the lowest capital gains taxes on resale in Europe (10%), which partially compensates for high entry prices for investors who are ready for long-term investments.
Source: Struma Pres
