In Bulgaria, newly constructed homes are predominantly two-room units, averaging 85 square meters in size and built mainly from reinforced concrete. The highest construction activity is currently seen in Plovdiv and Burgas.
Last year, nearly 5,500 new homes were built in Bulgaria, marking a slight increase from the previous year and surpassing the fewer than 4,000 homes built in 2021. The pandemic period significantly impacted the construction sector. Traditionally, the last quarter of the year sees the highest number of new home registrations.
Despite a general upward trend in new home construction, preliminary data from the National Statistics suggest a slight decline this year. The number of newly built residential buildings in the first half of this year is down by 22% compared to the same period last year. This year’s construction includes over 1,500 houses, nearly 300 residential blocks and cooperatives, and around 100 villas, with a small number of mixed-type buildings and one newly built dormitory.
Focusing on the quarter from April to June, there were just over 1,000 new residential buildings and more than 5,000 new dwellings. Reinforced concrete buildings are the most common, making up nearly 80% of new constructions, while brick buildings account for about 20%. Prefabricated apartment buildings continue to be built but represent less than 1% of new homes.
The majority of new homes are two-room units, constituting nearly 40% of the total. Three-room homes follow, making up about one-third. The average size of a newly built home is 85 square meters. The largest homes are found in the Lovech and Ruse regions, where the average size is twice the national average, while Vidin has the smallest average size at 63 square meters. Sofia ranks second to last with an average of 71 square meters.
Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna and Sofia region have surpassed Sofia-city in terms of construction activity. Burgas and Varna have seen around 130 new residential buildings each over the past three months, while Plovdiv leads with over 160. Sofia is fifth, followed closely by Blagoevgrad. Although Plovdiv has the highest number of new buildings, they are generally smaller cooperatives and houses, with just over 600 new dwellings. In contrast, Burgas has seen over 1,000 new dwellings, indicating larger buildings. Sofia follows Burgas in the number of new dwellings. Vidin saw only one new house built in the last three months. At the last national census, over 1.6 million unoccupied dwellings were recorded in Bulgaria, representing 39% of the country’s homes in 2021. (Novinite)