Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, trailed only the capital Sofia in terms of property transaction numbers in 2007, said Dobromir Ganev, manager of real estate agency Foros.
Some 20,000 properties changed hands in Plovdiv last year versus 18,000 for Varna, another of the booming regional property markets. The combined area of transacted properties in Plovdiv topped 100,000 sq m and that figure is expected to double in 2008.

Plovdiv also outpaced all other big cities in terms of downtown property prices with a 61% increase last year. Rent rates in the city rose 18% on average versus 5% for Sofia and Varna.

Foros forecast a 15% gain for Plovdiv property prices in 2008. Plovdiv office properties added 32.2% in 2007 which compares with 28% for Sofia. Some 55,000 sq m of retail space was placed on the Plovdiv market last year with another 300,000 sq m scheduled for delivery this year.