By Andrea Harper

High end jobs are creating a cash rich, sophisticated middle class in Sofia, which is increasingly prepared to use finance to jump the 20% price difference between old panelak homes and new builds.

The result - property prices are taking off in the Bulgarian capital. In just nine months, from December 2006 to September 2007, prices have grown by a staggering 37%.

Latest figures from Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute report the average property price was €974 psm in September 2007, compared to an average price of €712 psm at the end of December 2006. This is part of an overall trend of year-on-year growth where prices, which have started from a very low base, have continued to climb dramatically. In 2000, the average price was €292 psm, which jumped to an average of €679 in 2006 - a rise of 56%.

Sofia's salary level of 25% above the national average is fuelling this emerging middle class, which is driving the property market in the Bulgarian capital.