Property rentals in many major Bulgarian cities have gone up in 2008, according to new figures.

Research by Address Real Estate revealed that between January and October, there was a 12 per cent increase in rentals on a year-by-year basis.

This trend was found to be particularly apparent in places such as Sofia and Plovdiv, as well as Bourgas and Varna.

The firm has attributed this development partly to the global financial crisis, as this has hit the number of property sales in Bulgaria.

As a result, demand for rental accommodation - in particular two-bedroom flats - has gone up in the last 12 months.

However, interest in the number of one-bedroom flats waned slightly over this period, while there was a minimal surge in demand for three-room apartments.

This comes after research by Knight Frank revealed that house price inflation in Bulgaria slowed to three per cent during the third quarter of the year.