Archive for March, 2007
Friday, March 30th, 2007
Property investors discover Bulgaria’s spa tourism
Massive construction in ski and coastal resorts in Bulgaria is about to end as investors show increasing interest in other types of projects. Increasing number of investors turn their attention to spa resorts. The first spa projects are already carried out in the regions of Dobrinishte, Banya, Sandanski and Velingrad.
Agents said that such projects offered year-round tourism opportunities and proved to be more beneficial. Velingrad saw various developments. Spa Club Bor and Spa Complex St Spas are nearing their completion. The first project will be finalised in April and the second one is to start functioning in 2008.
In the beginning of 2005 spa property in Velingrad was worth 900 euro per sq m. Prices increased to 1600 euro per sq m in the beginning of 2007. Investors discovered Bulgaria’s spa tourism potential relatively late, agents said. The reason is that the majority of investors who launched such projects were previously involved in coastal and ski resort construction.
Pari newspaper
Thursday, March 29th, 2007
Odessa Property ot invest 40 million Euro in office centre in Bulgarian capital
Investment fund Odessa Property plans to allocate nearly 40 million euro in the construction of an office centre close to Business Park Sofia. The building will be set up on a plot located between Alexander Malinov Boulevard and Sofia’s ring road. Last year Sofia’s chief architect Petar Dikov announced the development, and Odessa Property Bulgaria has already launched the procedure to receive the documents needed to start construction. Work on the project is to begin in the summer of 2007.
The project itself and the investment in the facility have not been defined yet, company representatives said. According to plans the office building will meet all international standards. Plans feature a 27-storey high construction, which could be taken down to 21 or 22 floors because of high expenditure. Initially space in the centre will be offered for rent after which the project will be sold to a major investor.
Pari Newspaper
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
British buyers seek for luxorious properties in Bulgaria
Luxurious property abroad is among the most attractive options for British real estate seekers, MRI Overseas Property expo marketing manager Charlie Brown said. Such type of property offers high long-term return rates. Luxurious property in the country also has good renting potential.
Long-term property investment in Bulgaria is good option because of the developments the country will experience after its EU membership. EU funding will aid infrastructure projects in the country, increasing the appeal of its real estate sector, Brown said. Bulgaria at the moment offers good vacation opportunities and in the future will develop as permanent residence destination, Brown said.
Yet, investors are advised to research carefully local market options. It was most important to determine the type of clients the investment was going to attract, Brown said. According to the international property price index of Knight Frank, Bulgaria has registered a 13 per cent increase over the final quarter of 2006. Bulgaria ranks sixth for the period, in comparison to its second position in the index for the last quarter of 2005. In the end of 2005 Bulgaria registered a 21.6 per cent increase in the price of property.
Monday, March 26th, 2007
Bulgaria to Become a Monte Carlo of the Balkans
Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast is on its way to becoming a Monte Carlo of the Balkans. As it is a matter of prestige to have a house in Monaco world celebrities are buying estates in Bulgarian resorts and complexes on a mass scale.
One of the most famous investors is Eddie Jordan, former owner of a Formula 1 team. The famous Irishmen bought his estate through a prestigious English fund,” said Christian Saraliev, Chief Architect of the municipality of Byala (northeast Bulgaria).
One of the best-known architects in the world - Norman Foster, designer of the London City Hall was hired for the project. He is also winner of the Sterling Prize for one of his other projects - the London Sky Scraper nicknamed the Gherkin because of its unusual shape. His project in Bulgaria is still kept secret but it will probably be something eccentric, say well-informed sources.
Yurii Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow, has also decided to invest in Bulgaria. He plans to build a huge holiday village on 230 000 sq.m. with an outdoor track and an Olympic size stadium. The investment is evaluated on 100 mln Euro, and the constrution is expected to start at september 2007.
Other famous investors include Fernando Roig Alfonso owner of the Spanish football club Villarreal who plans to erect a modern port for yachts and a luxury holiday village with little hotels, family houses, expensive restaurants and bars, swimming pools and tennis courts. The total cost of the project is estimated at 100 million euro. Roig also plans to invest in the construction of a golf course worth between 8 and 10 million euro. According to the plans the construction has to start every moment now and will be completed in three years.
Standart Daily
Friday, March 23rd, 2007
Luxury golf developments are leading the way in Bulgaria’s latest property boom
The signs are that Bulgaria, once consigned to the cheap and cheerful bracket, is now heading up-market. Several new developments are now marketing themselves as “five star” with many based around golf courses.
The Black Sea coast is still attracting the bulk of buyers. Savills recently launched a new golf and country club development called BlackSeaRama, where apartments and villas are set within a gated community around a Gary Player-designed 18-hole course near Balchik. Apartments range in size from 95 to 170sq m, and villas measure up to 230sq m. The development is set within attractive gardens with on-site amenities, including communal pools and a five-star hotel. Buyers will have access to other sports such as tennis and the development lies near the Tuzlata Spa where visitors can enjoy its thermal baths and mud baths.
BlackSeaRama prices start from €124,000 (£88,570) for one-bedroom apartments, rising to €246,000 (£175,710) for duplexes. Lemore Kayvan from Savills admits that, for a country long considered an emerging market, this is relatively expensive. “It is a lot for Bulgaria but, for something of this calibre, it’s not bad especially when compared with other golfing destinations.” A one- bedroom apartment works out at €1,300 (£928) per sq m and Kayvan points out that buyers are getting something special in a country where five-star luxury is a relatively new concept.
Response has been good despite the development being targeted at a “niche market”. Luxury may be the main attraction but as there are few other five-star amenities in the area, does Kayvan think that buyers may be disappointed by a lack of amenities off site? “In terms of infrastructure you actually don’t need much to install a golfing development,” says Kayvan. “You just need space and beautiful countryside, which Bulgaria certainly has.”
Many investors bought in Bulgaria several years ago and have seen their investments soar in value. Today’s investors might question whether Bulgaria still has growth left in the market but Avatar International’s Amar Sodhi offers an interesting perspective: “In the past investors may have paid too much for developments that were of poor quality. In the early days, most developments were sold completely off plan leaving the developer with no incentive to use high-quality finishings. Today the market has cooled slightly and developers must compete for business.”
The market may not have the frenzy of the early years but Bulgarian tourism is still booming and Sodhi says that further growth is inevitable: “As long as the hotels are full, then there’s room for investment potential.”
Ginetta VedrickasThe Independent
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
70 hotels offered for sale in Varna coastal region
Just before the summer season’s beginning, 70 hotels in the Varna region are offered for sale. Hotels in Golden Sands resort have the highest prices. A four-star hotel in the resort is offered for EUR 25 million. Most of the offers are for small-sized family hotels. Because of the strong competition owners could not pay off their bank loans and are forced to sell their property.
The average sale price of the 70 hotels is about EUR 1000 a sq m, which is less than the average sale price for an apartment in city center of Sofia or Varna. In the neighbouring Dobrich region, 50 holiday properties are offered on the market. One of the most attractive offers is for the ethnographic complex . The asking price for Chiflika is EUR 459 000.
Standart Daily
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
Komfort business center will offer highest office rental prices in Varna
Construction has already began in biggest Bulgarian coastal city Varna of the Komfort business center. According to investors Atanas Kosturkov, manager of Komfort Ltd, and Dimitar Iliev, manager of D-Trance Ltd, the construction will be finished within 18 months.
The cost of the 3.5 mln euro development will be partially covered by the investors with the remainder of the financing coming as bank loans. The 6,500 business center will offer Class A open-plan office space with rental prices from 20 euro/sq m. Rental levels at the competing Business Park Varna near Varna Airport vary from 10 to 15 euro/sq m.
The Komfort business center will be located opposite to the building of the Varna city hall, a site that will accommodate a further two office buildings. One is being developed by property investment company Landmark while the second one is a project by Cargoexpress, the Opel dealer for the Varna area. The buildings will share a 2 levels underground parking for 200 cars.
Dnevnik.bg
Tuesday, March 20th, 2007
A phantom project named Klement Hills is still on sale in Bulgaria
Trud Daily’s investigation revealed a possible property fraud with a holiday complex called Klement Hills.
The holiday development is situated on 76000 sq.m near the coastal resort Albena. It consist of 21 one-bedroom apartments, 124 units in linked villas and some 88 detached houses, as is written in dozens Bulgarian property agencies’ web sites. Klement Hills has traditional Bulgarian architecture and provides for the latest facilities. There is an infrastructure set up with shops, restaurants, coffee shops, fitness, spa and swiming pool.
Prices range from EUR 49 000 for a studio to EUR 125 000 for a 151 sq m single family house. The payment plan provides for an initial instalment of EUR 5000 for reservation of the property and 30 per cent deposit; then payment installments for every stage of completion. Klement Hills is supposed to be finished by the end of 2007.
But nine months before the project’s completion, the site where Klement Hills had to be is empty, Trud Daily reports.
The terrain is not fenced off, there are no construction workers or security guards, no sign board with the name of investors, project managers, construction surveillance company and date of completion. Practically a project called Klement Hills does not exist.
Trud Daily investigation revealed the plot was bought in 2005 by Monty Ltd, managed by the Spanish Migel Montaner Allomar. The land is agriculural and its status hasn’t been changed according to Trud Daily research. The project has no issued construction visa or construction permit. But trustworthy real estate agencies like Knight Internatational continue to offer Klement Hills apartments and houses on the market. There are even deals signed.
Investors told Trud Daily they had stopped construction temporary because parts of the development ompinge on lands proposed for inclusion in Natura 2000 sites. Aksakovo municipality told the newspaper the land where the project is set to be is not a part of Natura 2000 network.
Trud Daily