Depopulated Bulgarian villages are the latest hit among foreign investors in Bulgaria. Properties in the Rhodope Mountains are the most wanted.

Investors are looking for buildings with a typical Rhodopean architecture. Foreigners buy them because of the calmness, solitude and the romantic atmosphere in the Bulgarian provinces.

Brokers expect a real expansion of the real estate market in the spring of 2007.

Prices of land have reached 160-170 EUR per sq. m. in some of the villages in the Rhodopes. Houses situated near the Bulgarian ski resort of Pamporovo are the most expensive with prices reaching 1100 EUR per sq. m.

However, old-time stone houses can still be found in some of the remote Rhodopean villages at lower prices.