Investment property in Bulgaria: realistic rental yield by city and resort, gross and net

Investment property in Bulgaria usually returns about 4% to 5.5% gross a year in the large cities, and broker datasets quote more for resort apartments on the Black Sea coast and in Bansko. Net of fees, vacancy and tax the numbers are lower, and in resorts the gap is wider. Prices rose faster than rents in 2023 to 2025, which helped capital growth and squeezed yield, and 2026 shows a holiday segment that is cooling. This guide gives the figures by city and resort, what eats the return, and what suits which goal. Figures are indicative, come from market sources and change over time.

Gross yield by city

Gross yield is annual rent divided by the purchase price, before any cost or tax. Global Property Guide puts the average gross yield for Bulgaria at about 4.2% in 2026. By city, as reported by market sources for apartments:

• Sofia: about 4.2% on average, with a range of roughly 4% to 6% by district. Studios and one-bedrooms sit near 4.3%, and the student district Studentski Grad is quoted at about 4.7% to 5.1%. Sofia is the most expensive market in the country, at roughly 2,680 euro per m2 citywide, so its yield is among the lowest of the main cities.
• Varna: about 4.3% on average on one source, while others quote about 5.2% for studios and up to about 5.8% for apartments. The spread is wide, so check the specific district.
• Burgas: about 5.1% to 5.3%, among the highest of the large cities.
• Plovdiv: we did not find a reliable yield figure for this guide, so we give none.

A single broker blog adds that rents are rising about 5% to 8% a year and vacancy in the large cities is around 4%. Treat that as the optimistic end of the range, not a base case.

Resorts and Bansko

Resort apartments are quoted at higher returns. One broker dataset puts net yield at about 6.8% for a two-bedroom in Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas and Ravda, and about 6.2% for a one-bedroom there and for a two-bedroom in Bansko. Such figures usually assume a fuller season than most owners get. The same sources show the catch: the zone next to the Bansko gondola is reported at only about 35% occupancy at an average nightly rate near 97 US dollars, and Sunny Beach has seen the stock of apartments grow faster than visitor demand.

Our own note on the holiday market in 2026 reports that transactions in the first quarter of 2026 were on average 15% below the first quarter of 2025 across Bulgaria and down as much as 30% in Nessebar and Balchik, with more owners selling because short-term rentals did not give the return they expected. Price levels give the other half of the ratio: quality apartments in Sunny Beach, Nessebar and Sveti Vlas are reported at about 1,200 to 2,000 euro per m2, Sozopol at 1,500 to 1,600, and Bansko and Pamporovo at 900 to 1,300. See best areas to buy property in Bulgaria.

Gross versus net: what eats the yield

• Maintenance fees. One resort complex, Sunny View Central, is reported to charge 12 euro per m2 a year on new apartments. In Bansko the annual fee is reported at about 500 euro for a residential unit and up to 1,500 euro for a spa-hotel unit. These are examples, not averages: ask the management company for the actual fee and for the reserve fund.
• Vacancy outside the season. Many resort towns largely close for the winter, so the months you can let are few. Our article on risks of investing in Bulgaria explains why older resort stock competes for the same short summer.
• Management and platform fees if the unit is let through an operator or a platform. We found no reliable figure, so we give none.
• Utilities, furnishing and repairs. Maintenance, management and repair costs are reported to be rising, and some owners are leaving the market because of them.
• Local property tax of about 0.1% to 0.45% of the assessed value plus a waste fee, reported for Bulgaria.
• Income tax on the rent, below.

A worked example, our own arithmetic on stated assumptions: a 50 m2 apartment bought at 1,500 euro per m2 costs 75,000 euro. At 7% gross it brings 5,250 euro a year. A 12 euro per m2 maintenance fee is 600 euro, and 10% tax withheld on the gross rent is 525 euro. What remains is 4,125 euro, or 5.5% of the price, and that is before management, utilities, repairs and any vacancy that the 7% did not already include.

Tax on rental income

• Bulgarian tax residents pay a 10% flat tax on rental income after an automatic 10% allowance, which makes about 9% of gross rent.
• Non-residents are reported to pay the same 10% flat rate with no deduction for costs, and the tax is withheld at source when rent is paid to a non-resident.
• The tax in your home country is a separate question. For a Polish tax resident, how the Poland and Bulgaria treaty relieves double taxation depends on the treaty method, which we did not confirm for this guide; read tax on foreign rental income for Polish residents and ask an adviser.
• A sale is taxed separately, see capital gains tax in Bulgaria.

Long-term or short-term let

In Sofia, Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv a long-term let gives steadier income and fewer costs, because demand comes from students and working tenants all year. On the coast and in Bansko the money is in short lets in a season of roughly June to September in the sea resorts and in winter in the mountains. Since 20 May 2026 EU rules require a registration number in every online listing, and an unregistered apartment becomes harder to keep on Airbnb or Booking.com, see short-term rental rules in Bulgaria.

The euro, prices and rents

Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. Property deals were mostly in euro already, so the change itself did not move prices much, and what it did was remove the currency risk and the conversion cost for buyers from the eurozone. Eurostat data reported for the first quarter of 2026 put Bulgaria among the largest annual price rises in the EU, about 14.8% a year, with about 6.2% in the quarter. We did not find the second quarter figure. At the same time the holiday segment is described as stabilising, with fewer transactions. When prices rise faster than rents, the yield on a new purchase is lower than on an older one, so use today's price and today's rent, not last year's headline. For the Polish-language view, see Bulgaria in the euro area.

What to buy for which goal

• Highest cash yield on a city flat: a studio or one-bedroom in Burgas or Varna, resale, in a building with working management
• Steady year-round demand: Sofia, accepting a lower yield, with students and professionals as tenants
• Holiday use plus income: a one-bedroom in a well-managed complex in Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas or Bansko, with a low fee and a realistic occupancy assumption
• Capital growth alone: the 2026 data show stabilisation in the holiday segment, so do not rely on it

Before choosing, compare new build and resale in Bulgaria and run the resale checklist. Be careful with promised returns, see guaranteed rental schemes: the catch.

FAQ

What is a good rental yield in Bulgaria? About 4% to 5% gross is typical for Sofia and 5% to 6% for Varna and Burgas. Figures above 6% usually belong to resort apartments and rest on a full season, so ask for the occupancy behind them.

Is the 10% tax final? For non-residents the rent is reported to be taxed at 10% with withholding at source, but your home-country tax may still apply. Confirm your position with a Bulgarian accountant and your home adviser.

Does the euro change the yield? Not directly. It removes currency risk for eurozone buyers. What changes the yield is the price you pay against the rent you can collect.

Can I rely on guaranteed rent from a developer or resort operator? Treat it with caution. A guarantee is often built into the price and is only as good as the company behind it.

How we help

We help compare Bulgarian markets with your goal, model the gross and net return with realistic vacancy, fees and tax, and coordinate local lawyers and accountants. See also the Bulgaria country page and the pages for Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Bansko and Sunny Beach. Compare countries in rental yield by country 2026.

This article is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Figures are indicative, come from market sources and change over time; confirm current numbers before you buy.