OPTIMISM: Finance Minister Milen Velchev was optimistic
on the development of the mortgage bonds market in Bulgaria,
delivering his speech to the participants in the
Developing Secondary Mortgage Markets in
Southeastern Europe conference that was held in Sofia
on Tuesday.
on the development of the mortgage bonds market in Bulgaria,
delivering his speech to the participants in the
Developing Secondary Mortgage Markets in
Southeastern Europe conference that was held in Sofia
on Tuesday.
THE fact that 97 per cent of housing in Bulgaria is privately owned creates prerequisites for the development of the mortgage bonds market, Finance Minister Milen Velchev said on Tuesday.
He made the comment in his opening address to a conference entitled "Developing Secondary Mortgage Markets in South-eastern Europe" that took place in Sofia.
In Velchev's opinion, only two years after the Mortgage Bond Act was adopted, Bulgaria is already a regional centre for the exchange of information and contacts on these problems.
Big European banks came to Bulgaria following the privatisation in the banking sector and this gave an additional impetus to the development of the mortgage market, Velchev said.
He pointed to the upgrade of Bulgaria's credit ratings on several occasions over the past year as another factor affecting the development of the mortgage market and the financial corporations' decisions to sponsor investors operating in Bulgaria.
Last week, the National Statistical Institute reported that 97 per cent of housing in Bulgaria is privately owned, and the rest is municipally or state-owned.
Housing statistics reflecting the 2001 census of the population were summed up at a news conference by Ivan Balev, Demographic and Social Statistics Director at the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
In 1996, the UN ranked Bulgaria first in privately owned housing. Figures show that 94 per cent of housing is inhabited by the owners, 5 per cent is rented, and less than 1 per cent is inhabited by both owners and lodgers.
On March 1, 2001, 2 124 533 residential buildings and 3 680 951 housing units existed. Housing units increased by 548 000 (17.5 per cent) from 1985 to 2001, and by 291 000 (8.6 per cent) from the 1992 census. Rural housing stock increased by 9.4 per cent, while urban housing stock was up by 8.1 per cent.
One- and two-room housing units accounted for 42.6 per cent of the entire housing stock. Slightly over half of it, 53.8 per cent, are housing units with three to five rooms. Housing units consisting of more than five rooms account for 3.6 per cent of the total.
Inhabited housing accounts for 76.6 per cent of the total, uninhabited for 14.5 per cent, and 8.9 per cent of the buildings, mostly country houses, are inhabited temporarily.
Substandard housing units - cellars, attics, and others, number 7851. They were inhabited by 19 698 people in 2001.
The average housing unit area is 63.4 sq m. The average area of inhabited housing units alone is 66 sq m. The average living area of an inhabited housing unit in 2001 was 42 sq m. The average per capita living area was 14.9 sq m.
One in five housing units in Bulgaria has a single resident due to the drop in the population.
The average age of housing in Bulgaria is 34 years.
Fifty-eight per cent of homes have electricity and water supply and are linked to the sewerage system. This applies to 85 per cent of urban dwellings and 14 per cent of rural dwellings.
Sixty per cent of inhabited housing units have running hot water, a bathroom and a toilet. This applies to 81 per cent of urban and 17 per cent of rural housing.
Centrally heated homes account for 16.6 per cent of the total. Nearly 40 per cent of all homes use electricity as the main or additional source of heating. Nearly 40 per cent of rural homes are heated with coal and firewood.
He made the comment in his opening address to a conference entitled "Developing Secondary Mortgage Markets in South-eastern Europe" that took place in Sofia.
In Velchev's opinion, only two years after the Mortgage Bond Act was adopted, Bulgaria is already a regional centre for the exchange of information and contacts on these problems.
Big European banks came to Bulgaria following the privatisation in the banking sector and this gave an additional impetus to the development of the mortgage market, Velchev said.
He pointed to the upgrade of Bulgaria's credit ratings on several occasions over the past year as another factor affecting the development of the mortgage market and the financial corporations' decisions to sponsor investors operating in Bulgaria.
Last week, the National Statistical Institute reported that 97 per cent of housing in Bulgaria is privately owned, and the rest is municipally or state-owned.
Housing statistics reflecting the 2001 census of the population were summed up at a news conference by Ivan Balev, Demographic and Social Statistics Director at the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
In 1996, the UN ranked Bulgaria first in privately owned housing. Figures show that 94 per cent of housing is inhabited by the owners, 5 per cent is rented, and less than 1 per cent is inhabited by both owners and lodgers.
On March 1, 2001, 2 124 533 residential buildings and 3 680 951 housing units existed. Housing units increased by 548 000 (17.5 per cent) from 1985 to 2001, and by 291 000 (8.6 per cent) from the 1992 census. Rural housing stock increased by 9.4 per cent, while urban housing stock was up by 8.1 per cent.
One- and two-room housing units accounted for 42.6 per cent of the entire housing stock. Slightly over half of it, 53.8 per cent, are housing units with three to five rooms. Housing units consisting of more than five rooms account for 3.6 per cent of the total.
Inhabited housing accounts for 76.6 per cent of the total, uninhabited for 14.5 per cent, and 8.9 per cent of the buildings, mostly country houses, are inhabited temporarily.
Substandard housing units - cellars, attics, and others, number 7851. They were inhabited by 19 698 people in 2001.
The average housing unit area is 63.4 sq m. The average area of inhabited housing units alone is 66 sq m. The average living area of an inhabited housing unit in 2001 was 42 sq m. The average per capita living area was 14.9 sq m.
One in five housing units in Bulgaria has a single resident due to the drop in the population.
The average age of housing in Bulgaria is 34 years.
Fifty-eight per cent of homes have electricity and water supply and are linked to the sewerage system. This applies to 85 per cent of urban dwellings and 14 per cent of rural dwellings.
Sixty per cent of inhabited housing units have running hot water, a bathroom and a toilet. This applies to 81 per cent of urban and 17 per cent of rural housing.
Centrally heated homes account for 16.6 per cent of the total. Nearly 40 per cent of all homes use electricity as the main or additional source of heating. Nearly 40 per cent of rural homes are heated with coal and firewood.
