Bulgaria is among the countries in Europe where housing and rental costs are rising at the fastest pace, according to the latest Eurostat data for the first quarter of 2026.
On an annual basis, property prices in the country increased by 14.8%, placing Bulgaria second in Europe, behind only Portugal, where the rise reached 17.8%. The increase also puts Bulgaria ahead of Slovakia, Croatia and several other markets that recorded double-digit growth.
The rental sector is following a similar trend. Rent prices in Bulgaria climbed by 10.5% compared with the same period a year earlier, making the country the second fastest-growing market in Europe after Croatia, where rents surged by 39.1%. “Both housing prices and rents in Bulgaria are rising significantly faster than the European average,” the data shows.
Across the European Union, housing prices increased by an average of 5.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, while rents rose by 3%. Both indicators grew at a faster pace than overall inflation in the bloc, which stood at 2.3% during the same period.
In terms of property prices, Portugal recorded the highest annual increase at 17.8%, followed by Bulgaria with 14.8%. Slovakia ranked third with 14.4%, while Croatia registered a 14.3% rise. Double-digit growth was also reported in Spain, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia and the Czech Republic.
