Local tourism company Albena said it will sell its , on the Black Sea, by the end of August. The company is in talks with a foreign strategic investor who has already invested in North-eastern Bulgaria and is here for the long run, said Albena manager Krasimir Stanev withholding the name of the candidate buyer.

A further two foreign buyers are also reportedly interested in White Lagoon but the said investor will have exclusivity through August. Albena intended to add a golf course to the White Lagoon but a number of similar projects are already in progress in the area, said Stanev. The resort would require an investment of 50 mln to 100 mln levs, a resource that Albena cannot afford over the near term, said Stanev.

White Lagoon was listed on the Bulgarian bourse in March this year. The resort, located near Balchik, consists of 2 hotels with a total bed capacity of 79 double rooms.

A property you can buy on your credit card? It is not as improbable as it sounds. Despite surging markets around the world, there are still places where you can pick up something habitable for the price of the average family car.  Rural Bulgaria is a good place to start. There is  a wide range of village houses from just £5,000. But be ready to do some work – and don’t expect an indoor lavatory.

Other former communist countries are slightly more expensive, but you can buy a country house in Prekmurje, the picturesque wine-growing region of northeast Slovenia, for example, for £17,000.  Or look across the border in Slovakia or Hungary, where £50,000 would buy a house near Lake Balaton, a holiday spot for much of the former communist world.
Keen on a sea view or something in the mountains? You could get either in Bulgaria for as little as £20,000 – but take all those predictions of instant profit with a pinch of salt, as oversupply may keep a lid on future price rises. The Croatian coast is a more upmarket alternative: There are flats five minutes from the beach at Split for £52,444.
Up your credit limit and parts of France, Italy and Spain come within reach. “About a quarter of the properties on our books cost £75,000 or below, mostly in northern and central France,” says Cheryl Townend, of French Property Shop . “Most are two-bedroom semidetached houses, perhaps requiring a little work.”

The shock waves running through Spain’s market are moderating prices there, too. In Andalusia, you can buy a rare inland finca needing renovation for £30,000, or a distinctive cave home near Granada for £55,000. Parts of Italy are also surprisingly cheap.

And don’t forget America: thanks to the weak dollar and the wobbling property market, you can pick up a one- or two-bedroom flat in Florida for less than £70,000. “With price falls of 10% or 15%, there’s now a more realistic chance of rents covering mortgage costs,” says Charles Weston-Baker, head of international sales at Savills. “It’s an unexpectedly good result of a market that has corrected its prices.” Turkey has hundreds of miles of coast and low property prices. And Morocco is emerging as a cut-price alternative to the Costa del Sol. King Mohammed VI’s multi-billion-dollar tourism initiative, 2010 Vision, has earmarked six resorts, five on the Atlantic coast and one on the Mediterranean, for significant development. There are plenty of choices for less than £50,000 in both countries.

Also worth considering is the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, which has lots of sun, fairly cheap flights and flats at just £25,000 – although you should watch out for poor build quality.

Not exotic enough? What about a holiday villa on Margarita Island, off Venezuela, for £55,000, or a flat in the Philippines for just £20,000?

Time to start flexing that plastic.

Times Online 

Alfa Developments, the Bulgarian property investment company, said it has broken ground for the construction of the mixed-use Alfa Business Center in South-eastern Sofia. , will have a built-up area of 15,700 sq m. It will deliver 7,000 sq m of office space on 7 aboveground levels.

The building is designed to accommodate 116 cars on two underground parking levels. Storage facilities and shops will occupy one semi-underground level.

Alfa Business Center will be first scheme from the multi-purpose BPS Alfa Park that will be completed.

The 110 mln euro BPS Alfa Park, located at a 10 min drive from the Sofia International Airport and a 15 min drive from the center of the capital, is part of the Sofia Park project, the biggest property development ever launched in Bulgaria.

BPS Alfa Park, conceived as an extension of the existing Business Park Sofia office and logistics property, will have total built-up area of 152,000 sq m. Half of the space inventory will be office premises with 20% earmarked for residential use. The complex should be completed by the end of 2010.

Sofia Park, which integrates work and living environments, comprises also Residential Park Sofia, Business Park Sofia (managed by Alfa Developments) and a large-scale mall development, among other properties.

Alfa Developments is a subsidiary of Alfa Finance Holding AD, a local holding company with a portfolio of high-profile finance and real estate projects. The Alfa Developments spread includes also Panorama City, a project for a gated residential community in Varna, and the Sofia Central Park serviced residences.

Investor.bg

Construction and investment company Tenbul said it will invest 1 mln euro in a gated holiday home complex in Ribaritsa, a mountain village in North-western Bulgaria. The 5,250 sq m Kostina vacation community will comprise 13 two-storey villas with floor area ranging from 140 to 190 sq m.

Villa owners will be able to rent out their property when they are not using it. The complex will offer year-round property management services. The first villas to be completed will sell at a promotional price starting from 950 euro/sq m, said Tenbul manager Marin Kadiiski.

The pristine Ribaritsa, located at an altitude of 600 m beneath the Vejen peak in the Balkan Range, is fairly popular among holiday property developers and second home buyers. Realtors said upscale properties sell at 1,000-1,200 euro/sq m.

Dnevnik Daily

Galchev Engineering Group in co-operation with Austria’s Norema was chosen as the investor for the construction of the Dobrinishte tourist ski zone. This was said by Radko Lechov, head of the Bansko municipal council, at a council meeting on May 13, Investor.bg reported.

“We chose Galchev Engineering Group after serious investigation of its activities. It turned out that the company has serious experience in building tourist complexes. Norema has strong financial potential. The combination of the two is extremely good,” Lechov said.

At the next meeting to be held in June, the two holdings are expected to form a mixed share holding with Bansko Municipality to carry out the project. The intention is for the municipality to have strict control over the building of the ski zone, Lechov said.

Building was expected to start by the end of the year, he said.

The ski zone will be designed by the same person who designed the ski zone in Bansko, architect Emil Lechov. The project will cost about 200 million leva.  Investor.bg said that last year, because of increasing interest in the Dobrinishte project, Bansko municipality worked out the basics for the development of the resort. This was presented to potential investors. Among investors that took an interest in the project were Nord Invetment Inc, and Sunset Developments Ltd, the owner of the two mountain huts and the hotel in Dobriniste. Later, Sunset Developments Ltd changed its name to Dobrinishte Ski Ltd.

Last October, the Invest Bulgaria Agency gave Dobrinishte Ski a first class investor certificate for the ski complex project. For now, it remains unclear why the Dobrinishte Ski Ltd project did not go further. An official statement by the Invest Bulgaria Agency was expected.

Currently, the ski complex in Dobrinishte includes the Dobrinishte hotel which has a 130 bed capacity, Gotse Delchev hut (40 beds), and Bezbog hut (140 beds). The ski track is five km long. It starts at Bezbog hut and finishes at Gotse Delchev hut. It is 30 m wide, with two lifts, ski drags, and a ski school.

Investor.bg 

Bulgarian real estate investment trust Activ Properties has added to its portfolio a 4.8 ha land plot near Sozopol, on the Black Sea, the company said in a filing with the Bulgarian stock exchange. The REIT plans to develop a vacation complex in the area. No further details about the project were immediately available. The company is in the process of acquiring more properties in the vicinity which will be rezoned. These properties are not part of the protected wilderness tracts in the region, said executive director Dilian Panev.

The investment in coastal properties will form a faction in the Activ Properties portfolio and will be financed with the proceeds from the company’s capital raise. In March, the REIT hiked its capital from 5.2 mln to 19.7 mln levs, raising 22 mln levs.

There are no plans to raise cash with further share sales over the next 12-18 months, said Panev. The company will rely on debt and loan financing over the said period. At the moment, the focus is on the design of a residential development in Plovdiv, said Panev. Construction should begin in the fall. The 41 mln euro project should be completed in 36 months.

Activ Properties owns several premises in a new mixed-use building on Sofia’s Tsarigradsko Shose boulevard and an underground parking lot and commercial center in Plovdiv. The REIT posted a profit of 1.022 mln levs for 2006, sharply up from 30,000 levs in 2005. Revenues topped 1.731 mln levs, including 299,000 levs of rent income.

Only four and five-star hotels in Bulgaria will be categorised as spa, wellness and business facilities. The changes are listed in amendments to accommodation classification regulations that Parliament approved. The aim of the new regulations is to create proper conditions for specialised tourism. Hotel owners will have to meet a set of criteria in order to offer spa, balneology and wellness services, investor.bg reported. Current regulations lack such specifications.

An exact definition of business hotel is given for the first time as well. Business hotels should offer proper condition for the carrying out of work meeting, conferences, presentations and seminars. Spa hotels should offer various spa and cosmetic procedures, sports activities, relaxation therapies and consultations. When it comes to wellness hotels, these facilities should feature a spa or a wellness centre offering procedures, therapies and various programmes.

The requirement for balneology hotels is for them to have a medical centre with all the needed equipment.

The prices of apartments and offices will increase because of the newly introduced “road” fee: the construction entrepreneurs will be obliged to pave streets leading to the newly constructed buildings, and this will probably make them include the costs in the price of the real estates for sale. The investors will build the whole local infrastructure, water-supply and sewerage systems, Peter Dikov, Sofia’s Chief Architect, announced at a conference, dedicated to the real estate market in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
Currently municipalities build the road and sewerage systems, for this reason many of the newly-constructed buildings remain without infrastructure for long periods of time, which keeps away foreign buyers and investors. “It is expected that the price of construction permits will go up, too,” Dikov informed.
The prices of apartments in Bulgaria have hiked by 10% for the last four months. The increase of their costs in 2006 stood at 20%. One-third of all the buyers and investors in Bulgaria are foreign citizens. They, as well as most of the Bulgarians, prefer the luxurious new housing complexes. The price of land is rising, too, realtors informed.

Yuliana Uzanicheva
Standart News

Israelis will built the largest tourist complex and villa settlement in the Southwest of Bulgaria valued at 100 million euro. The Israeli company “Asim Investment Group” has started the grand project in the areas of Katarino and Golak, located on the territory of Razlog city. The complex will be named “Rila Ville Village” and will be constructed on a 150 decares of terrain. The start of the construction works is scheduled for February 2008 and will be completed in 5 years.

The property was bought on 31 October 2006 on a tender for the sum 6 008 388 BGN. The property is owned by the Municipality and has been given to the Municipality by the Ministry of Defense. In the “Golak” area the Israelis have bought 82 566 sq.m. and in Katarnio area – 66 084 sq.m. Three zones will be differentiated on the terrain: hotel zone with sports center, central part for public service and zone for apartment buildings. The complex will include a total of 1 000 apartments, trade- and entertainment areas.

Last week the investors organized a road show in the area where the site is to be constructed. Zvika Karmi stated that the complex will also have a child center, sport playgrounds, indoor swimming pool and a great number of other extras. The president of the Razlog Municipal Council – Radko Tumbev – told the investors that the municipality’s policy was to promote the tourism and added that in Razlog one could find all the natural resources needed to implement grand-scale projects.

Developers plan to shoehorn no less than 5 golf resorts between Shabla and Durankulak, a 20 km stretch on Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coastline. The Shabla municipality said the projects will be developed by Bulgarian Golf Society and Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Co., both part of Varna-based economic conglomerate TIM, Litex Commerce, Bulgaria Hold and Rosinvest.

TIM is also developing a marina project in the Shabla bay area. The developers are in a rush to secure planning approval and all the necessary documents before the state designates the sites in the area that will be protected under the European Natura 2000 network. The Natura 2000 decision for the Shabla area and the area of the Durankulak lake was postponed for October 2007. Sites with approved masterplan or detailed development plan are not eligible for Natura 2000 protection.

Shabla mayor Velichko Makakov said the developers have squared their plans with the environment ministry and have no concerns about a likely wildlife protection zoning. The Shabla municipality will participate in 3 of the golf developments. The municipal council has already approved the contribution on the part of the city of 120 ha of land. The city will control 35% stakes in the joint ventures with the private developers.

The first of the 3 golf resorts is located near the villages of Vaklino and Krapets. It will be implemented by Bulgarian Golf Society over a 5-year period. The second project approved by the municipal council is the golf resort near the village of Ezerets which will be developed by Litex and Bulgaria Hold.

Shabla Golf is the third project involving the municipality. It will be developed by Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Co. on 140 ha near the village of Tylenovo. Litex and Bulgaria Hold each have one more golf resort in the area. Those projects require no sanction from the municipal authorities because they will be implemented on private land.

The Litex golf course, a partnership with Rosinvest, will take shape near the village of Krapets while the Bulgaria Hold project is located near Durankulak. Neither has building permits but the developers are hopeful they will be granted by September.

Litex Commerce recently announced it will invest some 100 mln euro in a 60 ha vacation complex near Balchik, another coastal town emerging as a major golfing destination along the Northern Black Sea coast. Construction of the 500-villa complex should begin this summer.

Prices of agricultural land in Karlovo vary from 0,50 euro to 10 euro per sq m, expert.bg reports. Investors interested in agricultural land intend to change the land status and use it for residential or commercial developments.

Plots outside regulation situated on the main road Soifa-Burgas are offered from 8 to 22 euro per sq m. The most expensive plots in Karlovo are those in regulation. Their prices vary from 22 to 35 euro per sq m.

Houses in Karlovo are offered for 300-450 euro a sq m. Apartments are offered for 350 to 500 euro a sq m, depending on the type of construction.

Retired people from Japan, UK and Israel are buying houses in Karlovo and the surrounding villages. Investors from USA are negotiating for the purchase of plots and the construction of holiday villages of kit houses, local agents told expert.bg.

Bulgaria’s State Agency for Tourism says that the number of tourists visiting spa resorts will increase by 75 per cent in the next three or four years. Investors have been working on spa tourism projects for a long time, Kapital daily reported.

There are spa centre and hotel construction projects in, among other places, the well-known destinations Sandanski, Kyustendil and Apriltsi. These regions boast favourable natural resources and, unlike other traditional resorts, are not burdened by overbuilding. Major spa projects have already influenced the property market, in certain regions further boosting property price increases.

The regions of Bansko and Razlog have emerged as the most popular among investors. According to real estate agency Address, eight vacation complex projects with a total built-up area of 50 000 sq m are underway in the village of Banya. The village is near Bansko and has 70 mineral springs. As a result, average land prices in the region went up, reaching 40 to 100 euro a sq m, Address said.

A major spa project in Kyustendil will result in a hotel and apartment complex of 32 055 sq m area. The centre will target wealthy clients. National Statistical Institute (NSI) data said that residential property prices in Kyustendil increased by 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2007.

The growing number of holiday property on offer has posed the question for an emerging secondary market at the Black Sea and mountain resorts,  wrote on May 4. In Bulgaria, this market is still in its early stage, but it’s expected to develop in the next two to three years. Currently, there are about 40 000 properties for sale on the market around the country. Only in the past six months, the number has increased by about 50 per cent. Every third such property is in Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach), where offers have grown by 65 per cent.

The beginning of the holiday market in Bulgaria was about four, five years ago in Sunny Beach and St Vlas on the Black Sea coast. For its development helped the marketing of the biggest and most popular resort in Bulgaria (Sunny Beach) as a destination visited by more than 500 000 tourists annually. The holiday property market, however, has shifted towards other places, as that part of the Black Sea coast saw over-construction and oversaturation of holiday complexes.

Profitability is the main aim of the customers, who offer for sale already-purchased property. A large part from them are experienced investors who are looking for fast profit return. Revenue from resale of properties at the coast is between 15 and 20 per cent, depending on location. At winter resorts, earnings are larger, 60 to 100 per cent for the period of two or three years. What determines the price of the property is demand for properties in the area as well as the financial abilities of foreign investors, who are the main buyers.

In Sunny Beach, a customer is able to choose from 20 holiday complexes that correspond to his or her needs. This oversaturation of the market leads to holding prices for a long-term period. At the southern Black Sea coast, for example, prices have grown just by one per cent for the first three months of the year.

The rise in prices and the increase of profits from rent are to be expected in regions where supply is proportional to demand. At the sea coast, as well as at the mountain resorts, investors’ focus is already shifting towards smaller and medium resorts. The reasons are the high prices of land in popular resorts and the heavy construction density there.

The market at the northern coast still has potential for development. The extensive construction work in mountain resorts continues, but it will stabilise within two years. As competition grows, better construction quality and extras that the resorts offer will lead to increase of prices. Those resorts will attract new investors with greater purchasing power. Such are Russian and Scandinavian buyers. This will gradually turn into a factor for more construction of holiday homes to take place at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. This, in turn, will lead to increase and stability of prices in regions where there is no over-construction and the place can offer a wide scope of high-quality services.

Pari daily