Real estate after the euro: what does the market look like in the third month of the currency change

As of January 1, 2026, Bulgaria officially lives in the euro. The lev remained in history, and in a few weeks all the "lv." signs quietly turned into "EUR". The logical question was: will we see a "shock" in the real estate market? Three months later, the answer is rather boringly reassuring - there is no dramatic explosion in prices, but a continuation of a trend that started even before the euro: housing is getting more expensive, but the rate of growth is gradually calming down.

Background: the euro enters, price growth is already a fact

The decision for Bulgaria to introduce the euro from January 1, 2026 was made by the EU Council in the summer of 2025, with the fixed rate of BGN 1.95583 per 1 euro remaining unchanged. In practice, this means that, purely mathematically, a shock of the "new exchange rate" type could not have happened - all lev prices were simply recalculated at the known exchange rate.

The real story is that the sharp rise in housing prices started long before the euro. In 2024–2025, data from the NSI and the analysis of banks and agencies show double-digit growth on an annual basis: for 2025, housing prices jump by about 15–15.5% compared to the previous year, which is the second highest growth in the EU. In Sofia, the average price in the first quarter of 2025 exceeds 2080 euros/sq.m, and the average transaction value reaches around 150,000 euros - 50% more than the average price in 2020.

What is happening in the third month after the introduction of the euro

Three months after the change of currency, the picture is more of an evolution and not a revolution. Analyses for the end of 2025 predicted that in 2026 the market will maintain stable demand, but the pace of price increases will slow down. This is exactly what we see in the first months of the year - prices continue to rise, but at a significantly more moderate pace compared to the "hot" annual growth of 2024–2025.

According to preliminary data and observations of real estate agencies, at the beginning of 2026, the annual increase in prices is around 10–12% at the national level, compared to 15–16% a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, the growth in the third month after the introduction of the euro is estimated within 2–3% - far from the double-digit jumps of individual neighborhoods in 2024–2025. In other words: prices are not falling, but the "acceleration" is decreasing.

Sofia: prices are already in euros - and in another psychological zone

The capital remains a separate universe. As early as 2025, the average price of purchased homes in Sofia exceeded 2080 euros/sq.m, and in many neighborhoods - including mass, not just "elite" - the price of 2000 euros/sq.m became the new normal. In five years, the average price of an apartment in Sofia jumped from around 100,000 euros to almost 150,000 euros.

In the third month with the euro, the trend is more of a "holding on a high plateau" - agents report a slight increase, but many buyers are already facing the psychological barrier of "2000+ euros/sq.m for an ordinary neighborhood". This is causing some of the demand to be redirected to peripheral areas, nearby villages or smaller towns, where properties under this limit can still be found.

Large cities: Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora

In other large cities, the picture is similar, but with slightly lower levels. Analyses for 2025 show strong price growth in Ruse, Varna, Stara Zagora and Plovdiv - between 9% and 15% on an annual basis, and in some neighborhoods with new construction, the increase exceeds 15–20%.

At the beginning of 2026, these markets also slow down the pace. The average price increase in the big cities is in the range of 8–12% on an annual basis, with the most sought-after being new buildings with a higher energy class and good infrastructure. The interest in houses near the cities is also becoming more and more noticeable.

How the euro has affected the behavior of buyers and sellers

The introduction of the euro changed the way people "think" about prices, rather than the levels themselves. Buyers began to compare the Bulgarian market more easily with that in other euro zone countries - and to realize that 2000–2200 euros/sq.m in Sofia is no longer "cheap". This somewhat cooled the most impulsive demand and reduced expectations for constant double-digit growth.

Sellers, for their part, are increasingly seeking consultation before setting a price, because the purchasing power of buyers is not growing at the same rate as prices. Some of them prefer to put the property on the market with a "more down-to-earth" price, but to realize a deal within a few months, instead of waiting a year for the ideal buyer. The third month after the euro shows a slight lengthening of the time for sale, but not a massive "freezing" of the market.

Credits: interest rates, income and a new account in euros

For many, the most noticeable change is in the perception of loans. Mortgages are now calculated and serviced in euros, which makes them more transparent for comparison with other countries, but also more sensitive to the overall decisions of the European Central Bank. With a slight cooling of inflation and stabilization of interest rates, the demand for mortgage loans remains stable, but without a "boom".

In the third month of the euro, these expectations are generally confirmed: new mortgages do not fall dramatically, but their growth is more moderate. Young buyers under the age of 30 continue to look for their first home, usually two-room apartments, and often already think directly in euros - both for the price and for the monthly installment.

Real growth or just "inflation in euros"?

One of the big questions is whether we are seeing a real increase in property prices, or whether we are simply transferring the inflationary wave into a new currency. Data for 2024–2025 show that the increase in housing prices significantly outstrips the overall inflation, which means that housing has actually become less accessible to the average household. Against this background, the introduction of the euro is not the start, but rather "the third series" of a process that is already underway.

The difference is that now the account is made in euros and the comparison with the rest of the euro zone is more visible. Bulgarian homes remain cheaper than those in many Western European capitals, but the difference is no longer so dramatic, especially if we add local incomes to the equation.

What follows: a calmer market or a new wave?

Expert forecasts for the coming months are rather moderate. Prices are expected to continue to rise, but with lower annual percentages - in the range of 5–10% for the country, with strong differences between regions and types of properties. New construction with a good energy class and infrastructure is likely to maintain its positions, while older and highly compromise housing may need to "correct" their expectations.

The euro itself did not make housing neither cheaper nor more expensive overnight. However, it made prices more comparable and brought to light processes that were already happening - rapid price increases, high demand in large cities and increasing pressure on household budgets. The third month with the euro shows that the "shock" is more psychological: we are no longer talking about BGN 200,000, but about just over 100,000 euros - but for many this sounds more concrete, and sometimes more difficult.

Whether the market will find a new equilibrium or another wave awaits us, will depend on something much older than the euro - on how well incomes will be able to catch up with our ambitions for a "home of our own".