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Hoping to add transparency to the real estate process, the Bulgarian government passed a new law this week banning cash transactions for property.
In addition to thwarting fraud and boosting municipal revenue, government officials hope the law will bring some stability to property valuations. Bulgaria is notorious for corruption and under the counter pay-offs.
“It is essential that the law enforces the notion that in the property disclosure form, the appraised value of the property reflects the actual price of the transaction,” coverage in the Sofia Echo notes.
The new law is expected to go into effect by the spring.
Meanwhile, property prices in Bulgaria are expected to drop another 10 percent in the first half of 2010, according to new report by Colliers International. Valuations dropped 20 percent in 2009, the agency reports.
Atanas Darov, chief executive of Colliers branch in Bulgaria, expects the new to have little impact.
"If the Government wants real transparency in the industry, it must implement measures whereby the cash flow would be constantly monitored and evaluated,” Darov told a Bulgaria news agency.
