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UniCredit Group: Bulgaria mortgage mkt to grow 24% annually through '10

Mortgage lending in Bulgaria will grow in 24% annual increments through 2010, spurred by demand for new homes and investment in the refurbishment of existing housing, forecast the UniCredit Group economists.

According to UniCredit, although as many as 90% of Bulgarians own their home, 15% of them plan to invest in new housing over the next 10 years in a bid to shelter the savings from inflation.

UniCredit expects real estate prices will continue to climb over the near-term albeit more gradually. With the exception of Croatia, the bank considers property prices in the rest of Southeast Europe to be below their theoretical peak. The analysis shows that property prices in Bulgaria were at a third of their potential high in 2006.

Over 2/3 of Bulgarians buying a home finance the purchase with a bank loan and only 20% rely on their savings. One in five swap their old home for a new one.(Dnevnik)