Max Baklayan, chief executive of a financial company, said in a TV interview that home sales have fallen for a third quarter in a row, and the slowdown is speeding up. Prices haven't dropped yet — the National Statistical Institute still shows them rising.

Baklayan said sales volume is the first sign of trouble in the market, because the property market reacts with a long delay. Three straight quarters of falling sales show the market is going through its toughest phase yet, he said, and the housing price bubble has already burst.

Actual deals close 5% to 10% below the asking price, and buyers pay less than what's listed, even as official figures show prices going up. Baklayan doesn't expect serious price changes until after the second half of 2027.

Dobromir Ganev, former chairman of the board of the National Real Estate Association, sees it differently. The drop in sales since the start of the year isn't surprising, he said, and just as many people need housing now as before.

Prices are staying high because supply isn't keeping up with demand in some areas, Ganev said. He expects price growth to slow down gradually, but not within the next six months.