Against the backdrop of continuing economic dynamics, the housing loan market in Bulgaria has shown a remarkable upswing, reaching new heights. The latest data, published by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), reveals that the volume of housing loans granted by commercial banks has jumped by 27.4% on an annual basis, reaching an impressive 29.599 billion leva by the end of July this year.
This result underscores the resilience and appetite of households for purchasing properties, despite economic uncertainty. For comparison, at the same time last year, the total amount of housing loans was 23.232 billion leva, which is over 6 billion leva less. It is indicative that the growth rate of housing loans is even accelerating, surpassing the 26.8% annual growth reported in the previous month of June. This signals a strengthening trend in the real estate sector.
Overall lending picture: households and businesses
Consumer loans also registered growth, albeit at a more moderate pace. By the end of July, they amounted to 20.484 billion leva, which represents an annual increase of 13.6%. A slight slowdown in the growth rate is noted compared to the previous month, when an annual growth of 14% was reported.
The total volume of loans granted to households in the country is now 52 billion leva, which constitutes a significant portion of Bulgaria's forecasted Gross Domestic Product – 23.7%. This indicator includes housing and consumer loans, as well as the so-called "other loans" and overdrafts. On an annual basis, loans to households grew by 20.9%, maintaining almost the same pace registered in June (20.8%).
Economic fundamentals: loans for businesses and the financial sector
Lending to businesses continues to be a key driver for the economy. Loans provided to the non-financial sector reached 50.444 billion leva by the end of July, reporting an annual growth of 8.6%. This indicator shows that companies continue to invest and expand their activities. Similar to consumer loans, a slight slowdown in the growth rate is observed here as well compared to June, when the annual growth was 8.8%.
Separately, financial enterprises received loans worth 8.999 billion leva by the end of July 2025. This is 12% more than July 2024, and the growth trend has also slightly accelerated compared to June 2025 (11.7%).
In conclusion, the total volume of loans for the non-governmental sector in the country by the end of July 2025 amounted to 111.443 billion leva, which represents 50.7% of GDP. This result shows a significant increase compared to the previous month of June 2025 (110.142 billion leva or 50.2% of GDP), and on an annual basis, the increase is 14.3%, maintaining the pace from the previous month. These data outline a picture of strong credit demand and supply, which is an indicator of the vitality of the economy.