Overall, real estate in Bulgaria lost around 20 per cent of its value in 2009, according to the NSI research. In the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, levels dropped in 16 municipalities across the country, the steepest of which, 6.4 per cent, was in the northern city of Pleven.

While real estate prices decreased on all fronts across Bulgaria during the year, as a direct impact of the global economic downturn, properties in Varna were offered for as much as 1686 leva for a sq m, Dnevnik reported.

Bulgaria's Black Sea port city of Varna was home to the most expensive real estate in 2009, data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI) revealed on January 25 2010.

Sofia came in second with 1585 leva for a sq m, followed by Bourgas with 1360 leva for a sq m.
However, the real worth of property in Bulgaria is somewhat difficult to calculate. While the economic crisis has undoubtedly taken its toll on the industry, the widespread practice of declaring a figure different from the actual appraised value during a transaction means that real estate pricing is hard to regulate.
Value of real estate in Bulgaria was expected to decline by another 10 per cent on average by July 2010.

The ongoing drop in value in the first half of the year was expected to be succeeded by "stabilization in the market" in Bulgaria in the second half.
For 2010, however, experts believed that there would be an increase of demand in the market as well as greater flexibility given the lower prices, and investors were said to be "willing to negotiate," Dnevnik reported.