The Bulgarian capital of Sofia saw the number of real estate deals in Sofia double in the final weeks of the year ahead of the introduction of a new law which takes effect from January 1 2010 and which will ban all real estate payments made in cash, Bulgarian-language Trud daily said.

Up until December 15, between 300 and 350 real estate deals were registered in Sofia, but the number rose to 500 a day in the final two weeks of the month, with the highest rate recorded just before Christmas at 764. Citing Sofia’s Registry Agency, the paper said most of the deals involved buying or selling of apartments.

The new law aims to reduce real estate fraud and money laundering and is part of the Justice Ministry’s policy of adopting legislative amendments to a number of laws as a way of reducing corruption and crime as well as ensuring that all fees and taxes owed to the state are paid.