The report covers developments in Bulgaria’s construction and real estate sectors over the period July 2015 – June 2016. It includes selected financial indicators for local REITs with total assets above BGN10mn (€5.1mn) as of end-2014.

The annual growth of construction output has been negative in November 2015 – April 2016. In 2015, construction production rose y/y in nine months. The Q1 2016 data on building permits showed positive annual growth in terms of both number and total gross area. The data about buildings, the construction of which started in Q1 2016 were ambiguous, with an increase in the number of buildings, but a decline of the total gross building area.

In real estate, the sector stock index BG REIT has performed significantly better than the Bulgarian Stock Exchange’s blue chip index SOFIX over the period Jun 25, 2015 – Jun 24, 2016. There were no new shopping centre openings in the past year.

The housing prices continued to recover throughout 2015, according to statistics office data. The Q1 2016 data on newly built residential space were largely positive as well.


Key Points:
• The annual growth of construction output has been negative in November 2015 – April 2016
• The sector stock index BG REIT has performed significantly better than the Bulgarian Stock Exchange’s blue chip index SOFIX over the period Jun 25, 2015 – Jun 24, 2016
• There was M&A activity in both the construction and real estate sectors over the past 12 months
• The report includes selected financial indicators for local REITs with total assets above BGN10mn (€5.1mn) as of end-2015