Bulgaria house prices accelerate 15.5% as Plovdiv leads Q2 gains

Bulgaria’s housing market accelerated again in the second quarter of 2026. The National Statistical Institute reported a 4.5% rise in dwelling prices from the first quarter and a 15.5% increase from a year earlier. That annual rate is slightly faster than the 14.8% recorded in the first quarter, so the latest release points to continued momentum rather than a cooling phase.The quarterly city data are uneven. Plovdiv recorded the strongest increase at 5.8%. Stara Zagora followed at 2.9%, Varna at 2.8% and Sofia at 2.4%. Burgas moved in the opposite direction, with prices down 1.5% from the previous quarter. The divergence matters because a national average can hide very different local conditions for buyers and owners.For investors, the new reading strengthens the case for analysing liquidity, supply and achievable rent city by city rather than treating rapid national appreciation as a uniform opportunity. For owner-occupiers, another double-digit annual increase means affordability can deteriorate even when mortgage conditions are stable. The next quarter will show whether Plovdiv’s surge broadens further or whether the regional gap begins to narrow.