Mortgages finance more than half of property purchases

28.02.2008

More than half of Bulgarians seeking to buy real estate will use mortgage loans to finance the purchase, a survey commissioned by Raiffeisenbank and carried out by GfK Bulgaria showed, as quoted by Bulgaria news agency (BTA).
The survey, carried out between January 7 and 15, covered individuals aged between 26 and 55 in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Rousse, Pleven and Stara Zagora.
Mortgage loans are thus the most popular means of financing, with only 17 per cent planning to pay with their own money, and eight per cent would sign hire-purchase agreements.
About 5.4 per cent of respondents said that they have used a loan in the last five years and 10.2 per cent said they planned to use one in the next two years.
Bulgarians prefer to own their home, the survey shows. Until lately, living in rented real estate was a viable alternative for young people early in their careers, but acquiring one's own real estate has become a aim for many Bulgarians lately, GfK Bulgaria said. Increasingly easier access to bank funding in recent years has given a new impetus to the traditional consumer preference to own a home, according to its analysts.

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