Panels soften

Asking prices of prefabricated panel apartments started to fall on the backdrop of poor supply. In comparatively expensive neighborhoods like Strelbishte, Lozenets or Iztok in Sofia they have come down to around EUR 1,000 per sq m, down 20 percent from the levels we used to see just three months ago.
In other cities the picture is mixed but prices are generally stable as growth in some areas is rather an exception than a rule.
It is quite possible that the dip reflected a change in the quality of supply but the fact is it has coincided with rapid cooling of credit by banks. Panel housing has traditionally been an asset used more conservatively as security.
The other property type seen less credible is housing under construction. Yet prices of new builds have not been influenced that much. Developers have not started to correct asking levels in large numbers but it is a fact they have stopped increasing them, shows a Property Index magazine’s research. Discounts - both as a direct price rebate or offer of incentives like finishing works - have been a matter of negotiations. But what all market participants have agreed with is that now buyers have much more power to haggle than before.