If you’re looking to spend less on a rustic overseas property than on a new car, you’d be hard pressed to find somewhere in Europe with more choice than Bulgaria, according to a recent report.

In the rural areas of Yambol and Elhovo, the average amount spent on a home in Q3 2011 was around €10,000 (£8,560) but offers as low as €5,000 (£4,280) were made too, according to a report on the Bulgarian market by leading agent Bulgarian Properties. However, if you have a bit more to spend on your Bulgarian cottage, inland areas near Bourgas and Varna or near the cities of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Veliko Tarnovo are popular. In these areas, prices ranged from €15,000 to €45,000.

Meanwhile, in the ski resort if Bansko, the average price of apartments – fully furnished and in functioning developments – sold in the last quarter was €33,280. In the last quarter no deals were concluded in the resorts of Borovets and Pamporovo and the corrections in property prices there are not as tangible as in Bansko, said the report.

As regards coastal resorts, Bulgarian Properties said Sunny Beach was the most popular spot with most deals in the €15,000-€25,000 bracket, with few sales for over €30,000. The average price of sold apartments in Sunny Beach was €29,780 in Q3, said the agent.

For details of properties in Bulgaria, visit the Bulgaria listings of Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Bulgaria is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into euros or Bulgarian levs to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Bulgaria, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Bulgaria Property Buying Guide’