- Political stability
- Fiscal affairs
- Monetary policy
- Regulated markets
- Privatisation
- Macroeconomic developments
submited on 17.09.2010 in category Regulated markets | Fiscal affairs | Privatisation | Political stability | Monetary policy | Macroeconomic developments
Household financial wealth continued to increase, exceeding BGN 37 billion as of end-June 2010. The growth rate of the personal assets of Bulgarians accelerated again to over 10% annually.
Total household indebtedness to banks, leasing companies and specialized credit companies fell by 3% annually. Increased savings in combination with the repayment of some of the debt lead to significant growth in net financial wealth, reaching 20% in mid-2010
Most indicators of housing market recorded some improvement. Apartment prices have stabilized over the past three months. Permits issued for construction of residential buildings decreased by 20% in the second quarter of 2010, but the pace of decline has been slowing down significantly.
Cost of credit becomes more affordable to creditworthy borrowers. Interest rates on housing loans fell by more than 1 percentage point in a year for loans in euro, but remained above 9% per annum.
On the one hand, housing is becoming more attractive as an investment for rental, on the other hand, real household income, measured in housing area, increased by 21 percent annually during the second quarter of 2010.
Despite the significant correction in house prices since the onset of the crisis, within the last six years, apartment prices have doubled, bringing return approximately equal to the yield on investment in other real assets such as metals or oil.