This year is expected to be the most successful yet for real estate sales on the Bulgarian property market. For the first nine months of 2005 208 000 real estate deals were concluded. The number is 196 000 for the entire of 2004. Most real estate agencies experience increased interest toward their offers at the end of the year. Thus, sales are expected to intensify further. If the same transaction rate is maintained, the number of concluded deals will exceed 250 000 in December. More than 100 000 property sales were finalised for the first time in 1996. Unfortunately a period of economic crisis and hyper-inflation followed, which did not allow for a fast recovery of the market. An all-time low occurred in 1998 when the number of deals was only 65 179. Experts said that the tendency to raise prices was starting to wear off and that the market was stabilising. Only prices in small cities continue to grow. Foreigners and the Bulgarian diaspora are becoming increasingly important market players. Experts predict intense transactions in 2006 as well. The prices of luxury apartments will continue growing. Experts see the intense construction works on Bulgaria's coastline as the main threat to the property market, Trud newspaper reported.