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

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

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.

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 

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

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

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 

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

The amendments to the Ownership and Use of Farm Land Act are expected to open a market for tens of thousands of hectares of fields.

The changes allow agricultural producers from the EU to acquire ownership of arable land and forests, provided that they have been entered in the BULSTAT register and have become permanent residents of Bulgaria.

According to real estate agents , there has always been interest in Bulgarian farm land on the part of foreigners but the legal amendments now will untie their hands to invest in agriculture.

Sega newspaper

Sofia Airport Center, the first international business park in Bulgaria, meeting all international standards, was officially presented at MIPIM, a prestigious international fair taking place March 13 to 16 in Cannes, Frances. The investor, Tishman International, and representatives of the leasing agencies, Cushman & Wakefield and Forton International, hosted an official reception in Magestic hotel yesterday.

The concept incorporates three core elements totalling approximately 165,000 square meters of commercial space:

• 100,000 square meters of Class A offices
• 22,000 square meters of prime logistics space
• 250 room, high quality hotel with associated dining, recreational, and conference facilities.

The centre will be located 300 metres form Sofia International Airport.

“We believe this investment will turn the area surrounding the airport into a dynamic business environment, and change the face of Bulgaria’s capital entirely,” said Alan Levy, chairman of Tishman.

With low house prices and pleasant climate, Bulgaria is one of the fastest-growing destinations for Britons looking for their place in the sun. But they have been warned to think twice, amid fears that they may be pouring their money into homes which could end up being demolished. Environmentalists have clashed with the developers of a five-star resort called the Golden Pearl, which was built in a Bulgarian nature park called Strandzha.

A number of Britons invested in the 120-home complex, which boasts swimming pools, spas, restaurants and an exclusive beach. But the Worldwide Fund for Nature has persuaded officials to revoke planning permission because they claim it breaches European Union environmental rules to build the resort in the park.

The WWF has written to the European Commission asking it to step in and order the development to be flattened. Yesterday it warned that the Golden Pearl is not the only complex attracting the interest of foreign investors which could be facing the bulldozers. Question marks have also been raised about other newly-built developments on the Black Sea coastline and the popular local ski resort of Bankso.

“Bargain” properties in Bulgaria sell for a fraction of Britain’s average house price of £200,000. The typical price is about £40,000 to £50,000, with buyers usually required to put down a 30 per cent deposit to secure a property. Tina and Lee Smith, from Southend, bought a £50,000 flat at the Golden Pearl as an investment.

Mrs Smith, 44, said: “We thought after EU membership it would go up in value, but is seems EU rules have put the whole thing at risk.” Another investor, Caroline O’Connor, said: “I am definitely nervous. It is a lot of money and I don’t want to lose it.” E&D Agency, based in Kilburn, North West London, is one of three agents which has been marketing the Golden Pearl properties to British investors.

Manager Anatoli Ivanov said the firm had helped 20 to 30 British investors to buy homes in the block, which was close to completion when the row erupted. In all, 67 Britons have invested in the site. He insisted the investors should not worry about their money and is hopeful construction will be completed. He said: “I don’t think our clients have anything to worry about. The contract allows them to ask for their money back, if they want.”

Becky Barlow
Daily Mail

The 24th edition of construction and furnishing expo The Three Keys - Home, Office, Villa was opened on March 7 in the coastal city of Varna. The exhibition will be held in Varna’s Palace of Culture and Sports until March 11 2007.

Companies from various Bulgarian cities will take part in the exhibition. They will present their production on 510 stands and on total area of 5100 sq m. The expo is open every day from 10am to 7pm, entrance is free of charge.

The Three Keys is the biggest construction and furnishing expo organised outside Sofia. It is held two times per year in Varna, in spring and in autumn. It is also held in Bourgas, Veliko Turnovo and Stara Zagora. Companies from Italy, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Spain, Germany, Lebanon and Poland take part in the expo.

More than 90 000 people visited the last editions of the expo held in.

The exposition presents: designing, reconstruction, modernisation, and renovation building materials: panels steel and wood constructions, plumber and electrical materials, suspended ceilings, building hardware, PVC and aluminium frames, adhesives, paints; building machines and instruments; furnishing: furniture, floors, parquet, terracotta, doors, rolling shutters and blinds decorative elements; heating: fireplaces, water heaters, heating systems, air-conditioners, insulation materials, radiators and others; lighting, lighting fixtures, gardening tools and accessories .

70 PER CENT OF REAL ESTATE DEALS IN BULGARIA FINANCED THROUGH BANK LOANS

The average credit for the purchase of property in Bulgaria was EUR 26 000 in 2006. In the first months of 2007 that amount grew by 20 per cent to reach EUR 31 300, according to Credit Centre, a credit financing consultancy.

The company reports that about 18 per cent of their client in January sought a mortgage for more than 100 000 leva, or EUR 50 000. In the same period last year, only 6 per cent of clients sought a mortgage of that magnitude.

Interest rates in Bulgaria will differ from European levels in the next two years although they continue to decrease, Bulgarian credit consultants said. The current interest rates of Bulgarian banks for mortgages and home loans are around seven per cent. They said that 30 European banks are interested in entering the Bulgarian market.

After Bulgaria’s EU accession European banks no longer need license to operate on the Bulgarian market. This will bring a lot of changes in the Bulgarian bank sector. The number of products offered by the banks will increase significantly. At the moment a Bulgarian credit consultant could offer 120 products, while a consultant in UK could offer around 4000 bank products. Loans provided in Bulgaria for the purchase of a home off-plan are less than five per cent, Credit Centre said.

The first furtive efforts of Bulgarian banks to finance 90 per cent of a home value are made. Now Bulgarian banks lend no more than 80 per cent of the property value.

Bulgaria Property Wise

When you’re in the pub talking to the local barman about life, the universe and what’s what and you discover that they’ve just gone and invested in an off plan ski apartment in Bansko you really know you’ve missed the boat – no offence to the theoretical barman in question, but if everyone and his cat knows that property in Bulgaria is the place to invest money, chances are all the big opportunities have been sold out.

However, Bulgaria is still an attractive, well packaged, accessible location that has room for growth for a few years yet – but what you really need to know are the little known ways to profit from Bulgarian property that will set your investment approach apart from the rest and ensure that your real estate ambitions are realised when other areas of the investment marketplace are saturated…

For example – if you’re thinking of buying an apartment in Sunny Beach or a condo in Bansko think first about the concepts of saturation and oversupply. If on the other hand you’re thinking of a way to promote Bulgaria to the UK baby boomers in search of a safe overseas country with a relatively temperate climate where their pension will take them far further then you’re about to begin to see potential – hint hint!

Away from the madding crowds on the beaches and in the ski resorts, a few investors have begun buying up attractive village properties in communities such as Hotnitza and Rujitza for example where there are already at least a few Brits and they are renovating these properties with a view to selling the ‘lifestyle’ as well as reselling the renovated and pristine property to those hungry for an affordable, attractive retirement retreat.

Targeting a particular buying sector of society such as those Brits approaching retirement age where there is strong demand to own a property as well as a certain amount of affordability and then really getting to grips with understanding that demographic group and what they want from a home is an excellent approach to profiting from Bulgarian property.

Another approach is considering the student market – there are for example at least seven colleges and universities in Varna Bulgaria, very few of which provide accommodation and all of which are actively working to attract and retain greater student numbers – these students need affordable bed-sits, apartments and shared houses and buying such property is currently affordable, it can return a decent and reliable income and be a good long term capital appreciating asset.

Or what about speculatively investing in parcels of land? Or developing commercial premises in developing locations popular with the wealthier overseas buyers? Or what about buying large but more remote properties and developing them as guesthouses and reselling them as a going concern having marketed them to those who enjoy outdoor pursuits…come on, get your thinking caps on, look past the obvious and discover all the little known ways to profit from property in Bulgaria and make your move.

ShelterOffshore.com

More than 350 new buildings are under construction in the region of Varna, the city’s mayor KirilYordanov said. The majority of constructions are residential. Nearly 2000 new lodgings with total area of more than 260 000 sq m will be offered on the Varna property market once the buildings are finished.

National Statistical Institute (NSI) data showed that the number of construction permits issued in the final three months of 2006 in Varna was higher by 50 compared to permits issued for the same period in 2005. The increase of construction in Varna results mainly from big commercial projects, such as Mall Varna, Pfohe Mall and Orchid Mall Varna.

Simultaneous construction of three business centres has begun. The centres will be located in the centre of Varna and will spread on 26 000 sq m. Varna will also see a fourth business centre of more than 80 000 sq m of built-up area.

The construction boom in Varna will lead to an increase in plot prices

Dnevnik daily

FED-UP of a life fraught with Britain’s escalating violence, one Yorkshire family knew they had to make a life-changing move. Sheryl and Del Trott quit Hull for Bulgaria – and in the former communist country they have found a better place for their three children to grow up. Three-bedroomed detached house also costs on average £56,000 and a supermarket shop half the price of here. A decent three-course meal out for two with wine is just £12.50.

The couple also feared Britain’s violent streets. In Hull their eldest son Karl, 18, had been the victim of school bullying, which culminated with him having a knife held to his throat on one of the city’s buses. They put their house, in Holderness Road, east Hull, on the market for £82,000 and began looking for their perfect home in Bulgaria. They found the right place in Bulgaria with a price tag of just £24,000. They then spent £6,000 renovating the 13-year-old property.

After just four months Mrs Trott, a 37-year-old former care home worker, said she and her husband would now never return, mainly because life was more relaxed and also because pressures on family finances were considerably less.

The kids are becoming more violent,” said Mrs Trott, who is originally from Armley, Leeds. Even if the young lads are not out on the streets causing trouble, I still wouldn’t have liked my little ones to be out playing. This is definitely a better place to bring up kids.”

As well as Karl, Mr and Mrs Trott have two younger children, 18-month-old Ellesh and Spencer, three. According to their mother, the children, who don’t start school until the age of seven in Bulgaria, are already picking up the language.

She said: “They already know the basics like how to say hello, thank you and goodbye. We aren’t so good though. We have a phrase book we take everywhere…”

Mr Trott, also 37, has not worked since the move, but is setting up a gardening business serving other English ex-pats. Back home, gardening was just a hobby for the former steel erector.

“One of the best things about living here is that you do not feel vulnerable, as I did in the UK,” said Mr Trott, who was born and brought up in Hull. “Here there is no violence and no threat of violence. There is nobody hanging around on street corners and it is all very family-orientated.

“The only strange thing I saw was last December, when the locals brought their pigs out on the streets to slaughter them. Apparently it is some kind of Christmas tradition.

“The other good thing is the cost of living. We couldn’t live in the UK on the amount of money we spend here, our bills alone there were around £800 a month. I wouldn’t want to move back to England for all the money in the world.”

Yorkshire Post Today