Rental yields in Sofia, neighbourhood by neighbourhood
We paired our sale-listing sample with our rental sample for the same neighbourhoods. The result is the yield table nobody publishes for Sofia in English.
Gross rental yield is the crudest useful number in property investment: twelve months of rent divided by the purchase price. It ignores voids, costs and tax, so it flatters every property equally — which makes it a fair way to rank neighbourhoods against each other, and a poor way to decide whether to buy at all.
We can calculate it for Sofia because we hold both halves. Our sale sample is 18,058 listings; our rental sample is 6,176 advertised long lets. Where both exist for the same neighbourhood and the same flat size, the ratio is a real measurement rather than a rule of thumb.
The headline: 4.25% median
Across 77 neighbourhoods with enough of both kinds of listing, the median gross yield on a one-bedroom flat is 4.25%. The range runs from 2.72% to 6.68% — a spread of nearly four percentage points inside one city, which is far wider than most buyers assume.
| Neighbourhood | Gross yield | Median rent /mo | Median price | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyulin 5 | 6.68% | €640 | €115,000 | Lyulin |
| Moderno Predgradie | 6.44% | €650 | €121,122 | Vrabnitsa |
| Svoboda | 5.97% | €650 | €130,660 | Nadezhda |
| Obelya 2 | 5.85% | €599 | €122,773 | Vrabnitsa |
| Obelya | 5.78% | €610 | €126,554 | Vrabnitsa |
| Fondovi Zhilishta | 5.5% | €600 | €131,000 | Serdika |
| Lyulin 8 | 5.5% | €575 | €125,373 | Lyulin |
| Gorublyane | 5.4% | €674 | €149,692 | Mladost |
| Lyulin 3 | 5.39% | €620 | €137,944 | Lyulin |
| Detski Grad | 5.32% | €800 | €180,500 | — |
| Suhodol | 5.22% | €500 | €114,880 | Ovcha Kupel |
| Levski | 5.16% | €574 | €133,500 | Poduyane |
Gross yield = twelve months' median advertised rent ÷ median asking price for a two-room (one-bedroom) flat in the same neighbourhood. Rent sample: 6,176 listings; sale sample: 18,058. Before costs, voids and tax.
The pattern is consistent and, once you see it, obvious: the cheapest neighbourhoods produce the highest yields, because rents in Sofia compress far less than prices do. A flat that costs half as much does not rent for half as much. That is the entire mechanism.
Where the yields are worst
| Neighbourhood | Gross yield | Median rent /mo | Median price | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iztok | 2.72% | €650 | €287,000 | — |
| Lozenets | 2.81% | €680 | €290,090 | Lozenets |
| Yavorov | 2.92% | €725 | €298,000 | Slatina |
| Meditsinska Akademia | 2.97% | €650 | €262,750 | — |
| Doktorski Pametnik | 3.02% | €880 | €350,000 | — |
| Ivan Vazov | 3.14% | €680 | €260,000 | Triaditsa |
| Oborishte | 3.16% | €770 | €292,768 | Oborishte |
| Geo Milev | 3.26% | €650 | €239,000 | Slatina |
| Hladilnika | 3.28% | €780 | €285,000 | — |
| Izgrev | 3.3% | €850 | €308,945 | Izgrev |
The expensive central and southern neighbourhoods sit here: prices have risen faster than rents.
These are, almost without exception, the neighbourhoods people most want to live in. Central and inner-southern Sofia has absorbed the bulk of the price growth of the past five years while rents rose more slowly, so the income return has compressed. If you are buying an apartment to use, that is irrelevant. If you are buying it to let, it is the whole story.
From gross to net
Gross yield is not income. On a flat bought at €238,000 and let at the median €635:
| Line | Per year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross rent | €7,620 | 12 × €635 |
| Void (3 weeks) | −€440 | One changeover a year |
| Management 8–10% | −€690 | Skip if you are local and hands-on |
| Maintenance | −€450 | Higher in older blocks |
| Building fund, tax, waste | −€380 | Landlord's share |
| Income tax (effective 9%) | −€620 | 10% on 90% of gross |
| Net | ≈€5,040 | Before any mortgage |
Roughly two thirds of gross survives to the bottom line. Add the 4–5.5% purchase costs and the first year is worse again.
How to use the table
- Do not buy the top row. The highest-yielding neighbourhoods are cheap for reasons — distance, transport, stock quality — that also affect resale. Yield compensates for risk; it does not remove it.
- Look for yield plus a metro station. The combination of an above-median yield and a station within walking distance is the one that has historically held both rent and value. Each neighbourhood page lists the distance.
- Check the stock, not just the number. A neighbourhood of uninsulated panel blocks produces a good yield and a poor tenant experience; the two collide at renewal time.
- Model the flat, not the neighbourhood. Within any neighbourhood the spread between a renovated flat and a tired one is wider than the spread between neighbourhoods.
What this data can and cannot tell you
Both samples are advertised prices. Agreed sale prices in Sofia typically land 3–8% below the asking figure, and agreed rents 0–5% below. Because the discount applies to both sides of the ratio, the yield ranking is more robust than either individual number. Neighbourhoods with thin samples are excluded rather than estimated. And none of this accounts for the thing that most often decides an investment: whether you bought a good flat or a bad one.
Our verdict
How attractive Sofia looks as a buy-to-let market in 2026, scored on the dimensions that decide whether a rental actually works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good rental yield in Sofia?
The median across 77 neighbourhoods in our data is 4.25% gross on a one-bedroom flat. Anything above about 5% is at the strong end, and those neighbourhoods are almost all in the outer estates. Below 3.5% you are buying for capital value rather than income.
Which Sofia neighbourhood has the highest rental yield?
On our current sample the top of the table is dominated by the western and north-western estates, where one-bedroom prices are lowest but rents hold up. The full ranking is in the table above, and every entry links to the neighbourhood page behind it.
Why are yields low in central Sofia?
Because prices there have risen faster than rents for several years. Central and inner-southern neighbourhoods now sit at the bottom of the yield table — around 2.72% — while remaining the easiest places to sell.
How much tax do I pay on rental income in Bulgaria?
Ten per cent, applied after a statutory 10% expense deduction — an effective 9% of gross rent. Declare it in the annual return by 30 April. See our yield guide for the full cost stack.
What is the difference between gross and net yield?
Gross is rent ÷ price. Net subtracts voids, management, maintenance, building charges, insurance and tax — typically a third of the gross. A 5% gross in Sofia usually becomes 3.3–3.7% net before any mortgage.
Should I buy a studio or a one-bedroom to let?
One-bedrooms are the workhorse of the Sofia rental market: the deepest tenant pool and the most reliable resale. Studios yield slightly more and turn over faster, which costs you in voids and wear.
Do I need to furnish a rental flat in Sofia?
In practice yes — the overwhelming majority of Sofia lets are advertised furnished, and an unfurnished flat both rents for less and takes longer to place.
Are short lets more profitable than long lets?
They can gross 7–9% in the centre, but municipal categorisation, cleaning, management and seasonality absorb much of the difference, and Sofia is not a year-round tourist city. Most owners end up ahead on a long let.
Figures from our own sample of 18,058 Sofia for-sale listings and 6,176 long-let listings collected on 16 September 2026, and from OpenStreetMap. Asking prices, not achieved prices. Method.
Want a shortlist for Sofia?
Tell us the budget and the size, and we will come back by email with what is actually available in the neighbourhoods that fit — including the listings that never make it onto the English-language portals.