По данным Регистрационного агентства Болгарии, число сделок по купле-продаже объектов жилой недвижимости в столице страны, Софии, в третьем квартале с.г. снизилось на 18% в годовом исчислении.

Нисходящий тренд начался во втором квартале текущего года, однако 13% рост относительно 2007 г. в первом квартале нивелировал спад за девять месяцев 2008 г. до 4% в годовом исчислении, пишет Property Wise Bulgaria.

Крупнейший спад в третьем квартале был зафиксирован на горнолыжных курортах Банско и Разлог. Кроме того, снижение числа сделок было отмечено в городах Балчик, Каварна, Варна и Пловдив.

Владелец агентства недвижимости Aristo Тихомир Цаков в этой связи отметил, что инвестиционные сделки сошли практически на нет, а покупатели жилья медлят перед принятием решения.

Представитель консалтингового агентства Elta Валерий Левиев заявил, что крупные иностранные инвесторы откладывают заключение сделок до второго квартала 2009 г.

Текст : Сергей Шумаков
Metrinfo.Ru

Если вы, уважаемые читатели, время от времени бываете на выставках, посвященных зарубежной недвижимости, то наверняка заметили, что, несмотря на большое количество предложений из самых разных стран мира, лидируют компании, занимающиеся продажей недвижимости в Болгарии.

Неудивительно поэтому, что Болгария занимает первое место среди стран, где покупают недвижимость так называемые «средние русские». А София - на первом месте среди болгарских городов по количеству покупок нашими соотечественниками.

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Property experts believe that Sofia, Bulgaria is at the start of a long term growth curve, with a massive boom expected for the capital city…

Sofia is at the beginning of a long-term growth curve and a massive boom is still ahead for the city, according to Neil Lewis, CEO of Property Secrets. The analyst believes that this is currently the best time to invest in Sofia, citing that “excellent capital growth is probably Sofia’s biggest attraction at the moment, especially when we consider that several of those markets that experienced ultra growth are now slowing to more sustainable rates”.

According to Lewis, Sofia’s market is healthy given that the share of foreign investors does not exceed 25 percent, and some developers have limits on the number of apartments that can be purchased by non-owner occupiers. The analyst is also forecasting a boom in the city’s relatively underdeveloped rental market, which is predicted to increase when home prices grow further, forcing would-be buyers to rent.

On the macroeconomic end, Lewis expresses faith in the Bulgarian government’s monetary policy, with interest rates expected to keep the Bulgarian currency closely pegged to the Euro.

The analyst also says that the mortgage market in Bulgaria is particularly developed by emerging market standards, with mortgages of 70-80% available, along with the possibility of self-certification and re-mortgaging.

Key Highlights:

• Global house price inflation in Q1 2008 stood at 6.1%, compared to 9.2% in Q4 2007
• Bulgaria, again tops the index as the country with the greatest annualised price growth (31.5%)
• Latvia prices appear to be in freefall, with negative price inflation of -20%, down from over 60% growth during the same period in 2007
• Outside Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong continued to outperform the market, as did Russia Australia, and China

Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research, Knight Frank, says:
“The Knight Frank Global House Price Index shows that while house price growth in Europe and America continues to slow or even fall, pockets of strong growth remain.”

“Bulgaria continues to confound market fears of oversupply and has so far proved immune to the deceleration seen in much of the continent. Iceland is another surprisingly strong performer with growth of 19.1%. The Baltic region remains in the doldrums, noticeably Latvia and Estonia. Difficult economic conditions, evident in high rates of national debt, are partially to blame for the Baltic woes. The US also continues to experience difficulties, while the far-eastern cities of Hong Kong and Singapore are bright spots on the residential investment horizon.”

“The country by country summary that follows provides an insight to the shifts currently taking place in house prices across the world.”

Overview:
Residential property price inflation continued to slow in the first quarter of 2008, falling to 6.1%, compared to the 9.2% recorded the previous quarter and 9.8% over the 12 months to Q1 2007. The number of markets where prices have fallen has increased, and although there are still locations where price growth is in double figures, at the moment they are the exception rather than the rule. A year ago, 35% of the markets covered by Knight Frank in the Global House Price Index saw house price inflation in double figures. In Q1 2008, this proportion had fallen to just 20%. The geography of the best performing markets is not so clearly delineated as in previous years, when we might have been able to say that growth was strongest in the Far East, or Central and Eastern Europe. Today, the top performing markets are dispersed around the world, with Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong and Jersey being the locations with the highest growth rates.

Europe:
Since Q2 2007, Bulgaria has been the best performing location in the Knight Frank Global House Price Index. While the rate of growth in the price of flats was lower than in previous quarters, it was nonetheless maintained at over 30%, again being driven by the performance of areas bordering Romania such as Ruse and Vidin, as well as the capital Sofia, where year-on-year price inflation exceeded 60%.

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Dozens of people become victim of the so called real estate mafia in Bulgaria every year, losing their properties in their desperate need to get money cash as soon as possible. But the results are shocking - the owners pawn flats or houses, whose value is set at hundreds of thousands Euro to receive some half of this sum immediately. Besides such “services” are at a high rate of interests. Of course, everybody, who takes such a risk, hopes he is to get his property back right after he pays off his debts. But often that is not the case… At least not in Bulgaria…

Police probes proved that some owners of pawnbroker’s have up to 15 properties registered in their names. Contracts however show that these flats have actually been pawned and according to the law they should not be transferred to the “brokers”. Suspicious foreign jobbing-houses, taxi drivers, change bureaus or Bulgarian nationals, who work abroad often play the roles of such “brokers”. They even use forged documents to sell to ordinary people mortgaged properties. Only 500 out of about 1400 jobbing-houses are legally working. The rest perform such activities without paying any taxes or insurances to their employees.
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The residential markets in Sofia and Varna account for the bulk of luxury homes in Bulgaria while occasional listings in other cities are the exception rather than the rule, says a market overview commissioned to local analytical outfit Industry Watch by Lux Imoti, a local real estate agency specialising in upmarket properties.In many cases, the label ‘luxury’ is misleading because it is used to describe properties that offer basic amenities like parking and sports facilities which are considered standard in the rest of Europe, said Industry Watch. (more…)

Wizz Air announced plans to expand its Sofia base in Bulgaria by deploying an additional new A320 aircraft starting from 12-Jul-08. The airline will commence new services from Sofia to domestic Varna, Milan-Bergamo, Valencia, Barcelona and Izmir (Turkey), and will increase frequency on existing services to London, Rome and Dortmund. By introducing the Sofia-Varna route, Wizz Air will become the first LCC to operate domestic services in Bulgaria. Concurrently, the launch of Sofia-Izmir service will be the first low fare route from Bulgaria outside of the EU.

Wizz Air is also launching its recruitment for pilots and cabin crew to be based in Sofia for staffing the new aircraft.

“This wave of expansion will triple Wizz Air’s current capacity in Sofia and will further strengthen its market leadership in the Bulgarian low cost airline sector. Our low fares combined with the convenient travel experience on board of our young A320 fleet continues to attract an ever increasing number of passengers allowing us to launch more destinations and flights from Sofia. We are especially proud of becoming the first low fare airline flying a domestic service in Bulgaria,” said József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air.

Prices in several overseas property investment markets have remained buoyant despite slowing growth in the domestic market.

According to research from overseas specialists Assetz, property in key markets, including Cape Verde, France and Bulgaria, is remaining profitable for British investors. “In spite of a continuing slowdown in capital growth across the global property market, it remains an exciting time for investors worldwide,” said Stuart Law, managing director of Assetz.

“With a plethora of exotic new destinations coming to the forefront of property investment, there are several emerging markets with the long-term ability to cause more than a stir of interest among the more canny of property investors.”

In France reforms by newly elected president Nicolas Sarkozy – including tax relief on home ownership - are helping to drive up prices.While tax breaks do not apply to foreign ownership they have presented a spur to the domestic market, driving prices higher and providing a boon to British investors. At present the country is providing just over 40 per cent returns on cash invested, and generates net rental returns of 8.6 per cent.

In eastern Europe Bulgaria remains the runaway leader.The country presently produces an average of 84 per cent returns on capital investment, well ahead of Poland in second place. It is becoming increasingly possible for buyers to obtain the highest possible returns on cash invested, with the increasingly competitive mortgages available on the market, even in less established locations, offsetting any slowdown in price growth,” continued Mr Law. “Investors now have the capabilities to leverage their money in a way that affords them the chance to take home a significant percentage against any initial outlay.”

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By Kerin Hope and Theodor Troev
Financial Times

Home owners in many parts of the world have reason to worry about the implications of the international credit crunch. In Bulgaria they do not. Bulgaria’s residential property market is showing unexpected resilience to the impact of the crisis thanks to investment by east Europeans and increasing numbers of local buyers. Interest from foreign investors remains high as they are aware that Bulgaria still has the lowest property prices in the European Union, says Michail Chobanov, chief executive of Sofia-based Bulgarian Properties.

Investors from Russia and Romania have started to replace the British and Irish buyers who were the first to put the Black Sea coast and Bansko, a ski resort south of the capital Sofia, on the international second-home map.

“The credit squeeze has had an impact mainly in the US and the UK, while the market in the past six months has been driven predominantly by investors from Russia, Romania, Poland and Ukraine,” says Rossen Dimov of Rockarch Estates, a London-based property consultancy. Russians and other east Europeans, who filled Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort hotels in the communist era, are returning as buyers of holiday homes. While no official statistics are avail-able, local estate agents say sales to east Europeans, whether of low-priced apartments or high-end villas in gated developments, have shown a significant increase this year. (more…)

The Bulgarian cities of Sofia and Varna have been identified as potential overseas property investment hotspots by analysts PropertySecrets.net.Strong demand in recent years has allowed the country to develop a robust financial sector, making investment in Bulgaria easier than neighbouring markets. Yet, while Sofia and Varna are expected to provide investors with good returns in the medium term, some areas of the country are best avoided according to the organisation.

“I think in the mountains and the coast it’s already completely saturated and over-supplied,” commented Simon Tweddle, chief analyst for PropertySecrets.net. “I think the popularity of the country generally will subside a little bit but there will be more of a shift away from the coast and the ski-resorts and into the cities.”

A recent boom in these areas is coming to a dramatic end, according to PropertySecrets. Cheap material and labour in the Bulgarian property market allowed property to be built for a low cost, before being sold for ever increasing prices.

However, this market is now saturated.

“The likes of the beach and then the mountains which are completely over-supplied and are not an investment location at all, in my book,” continued Mr Tweddle.

“You’ll probably end up losing your shirt if you invest there.”

Yet, buying off-plan in up-and-coming locations is a key trend in the Bulgarian property market.

“Most people are buying off-plan because with off-plan you know what you’re getting, more or less,” continued Mr Tweddle.

This is largely due to the convenience of new property.

“You can see the floor plans at home, you can see the pictures, you can see the location, whereas with the existing property you need to have it checked out a little bit more, you don’t know if the room sizes are going to be right and you need to go and visit it yourself, which is a bit difficult for a foreign investor,” explained Mr Tweddle.

An emerging trend on the Bulgarian business property segment is the marketing to buyers of projects at the design stage,local realtors said, as quoted by Dnevnik Daily. Everything is sold right off the drawing table before even the first sod of ground is turned, said Krasimir Dimitrov from Source Real Estate.

A crucial deal-maker for the buyers is for the respective project to have passed all relevant administrative procedures like rezoning, planning approval, etc. The latest large-scale property to be transacted at the design stage is the 100 million euro Mall Plovdiv sale to GE Real Estate and Quinlan.

The list of major projects transacted so far in 2007 includes also Mall Varna (Varna), Megapark Soravia (Sofia), Business Park Varna (Varna), Porsche Center (Sofia) and Hypermarket Technolux (Pleven). The combined price exceeds 400 mln euro.

Rent levels in Sofia are still low , on the average by 28 per cent, according to participants in an investor.bg poll. Nearly 15 per cent of those questioned said that rents were high at the moment and would register decrease. According to 10 per cent, rent levels have reached a peak and would grow no more.

Investor.bg reported that the results of the poll show that no predictions can be made concerning developments in the property rental sector in Sofia. Property agents said that some districts would experience price growth for specific types of residential property. Rents will increase in prestigious districts and in those experiencing market dynamics.

According to agents, the rental increase will vary from five to 10 per cent. Rental levels in Sofia are still much lower than those in other European capitals. As a result agents predict further growth in rents.

Bulgaria Buy to Let, the local property investment company, said will invest an undisclosed amount in two villa communities near Sofia. The company said the single-family homes will be marketed to high-income earners looking for a cozy and quiet residential environment in suburban areas at a short commute from the city center.

The gated Princess of Vladaya complex will comprise 23 two-storey detached houses and should be ready by the end of 2008. The second development is located in the village of Petarch. It will place on the market 200 houses and will feature shops, swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts. A communal bus line will offer rides to the city every 30 minutes.

The cheapest home will sell at 132,000 euro for a built-up area of 110 sq m. The most expensive home will sell for 290,000 euro for a built-up area of 240 sq m.

The company plans to acquire more land plots for residential development.

Riofisa SA, a leading Spanish real estate company, said it expects to secure all necessary construction permits and commence work on its mixed-use development in Sofia, said Carlos Pilar, in charge of the company’s international expansion. Riofisa Wednesday was granted a First Class Investor certificate by InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority.

Pilar said the conceptual design of the development will be completed promptly and the company will apply for the relevant permits as soon as possible. The 280,000 sq m built-up area scheme, sited near the Sofia central train station, should be completed in late 2009 or early 2010.

The launch of the 85,000 sq m retail component of the scheme will attract retailers that are not yet present on the Bulgaria market but usually have leases in Riofisa commercial properties.

In addition to retail outlets, the shopping center will feature a supermarket, casino, bowling alleys and cinema theaters.

The property, with an initial estimated cost of 335 mln euro, will be anchored by an 90 m high-rise housing offices and a hotel. The other components of the scheme are still being put together and it has not been decided if they will be office or residential, said Pilar.

In 2006, Riofisa unveiled a 215 mln euro project for a commercial and entertainment center in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second biggest city. Pilar said on Wednesday that the land plot for the scheme has been purchased but refuse to name the location.

The 200 mln euro commercial park near the Sofia International Airport being developed by U.S. company Tishman is being held back by the insistence of the Bulgarian environment ministry that the investor submit an environment impact assessment (EIA) for the project. The project cannot be gain construction approval before all the relevant permits are granted by the environment ministry.

The size of the Tishman development has qualified the company for a First Class Investor certificate and administrative support. The InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority, assisted Tishman in arranging a meeting with the ministers of economy and environment to discuss the problem. Initially, the company was asked to submit an EIA but that requirement was later dropped after it was successfully litigated by Tishman.

The U.S. company was then asked for additional information certifying that the project is safe and meets all relevant environment standards. ‘The requested documents have been handed in and we are awaiting the response of the regional environment protection directorate,’ said Pepa Dimitrova from Tishman’s Bulgarian office. is a multi-purpose mix of office, logistics, storage and hotel buildings located 300 m from the new terminal of the Sofia airport. The commercial park will have a 10 ha footprint and built-up area of 256,000 sq m, including 100,000 sq m of office space, 20,000 sq m of warehouse floor area and 40,000 sq m of hotel premises.

A subway station, providing a transportation link with the downtown and the western-most boroughs of the capital, should open in the vicinity of the commercial park within 3 years. A total of 90,000 sq m of office space will be placed on the market during the initial stage of the project. Some 20,000 sq m of logistics and industrial floor area will be built by the fall of 2007.

30,000 sq m of Class A low to mid-rise office buildings will be ready in the first half of 2008.

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

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

A 71 mln lev shopping mall will be added to the gated under construction in north-eastern Sofia. The company that will develop the mall project, Sofia Building Enterprise, Wednesday was granted a First Class Investor certificate by the local investment promotion authority.

Sofia Building Enterprise, a subsidiary of construction firm Sofia Building Company which is developing the Tsarigradski housing community, is specially incorporated for the purposes of the mall project. The new shopping center is sited in proximity to the outlets of German retailer Metro and Austrian DIY chain Praktiker and to the locations of planned Carrefour and Turk Mall commercial developments.

The Tsarigradski Mall development will have a footprint of 2.0 ha and a total built-up area of 105,000 sq m, including 35,000 sq m of lettable retail space. The office component of the mall will deliver 15,000 sq m of lettable premises. The construction of the mall, which will employ 1,200 staff after completion, should get underway in the fall and wrap in 2009.

Sofia Building Enterprise provides 30% of the project financing with the remainder coming from an unnamed bank. The mall site is part of the land initially designated for the development of the Tsarigradski residential compound. The tenants of the complex will move into their new homes this summer.

The second section of the complex will be delivered in 2008 with all three sections expected to be completed by 2009, providing housing to 4,000 tenants. There are unsold apartment units only in Tsarigradski III with prices starting from 55o euro/sq m. Sofia Building Company is currently scouting for sites for residential construction in Sofia and along the Black Sea coastline.

The Bulgarian defence ministry plans to execute swap and sale transactions involving 250 properties around the country in 2007. A total of 108 properties will be swapped for apartments to meet the ministry’s department housing needs. A decision is yet to be taken whether to sell or swap another 80 of the properties.

The list of properties slated for disposal includes the 55.9 ha airstrip in the village of Musachevo some 30 km from Sofia. The ministry is also offering 3 sites with a combined area of 156 ha near the Straklevo airport in the Ruse area and 175 ha in the vicinity of the former military air field in the village of Kondofrei, in the Radomir area.

Some 300 ha of arable land and properties in Sofia’s Bozhurishte residential district will be exchanged for housing units. The list of properties earmarked or sell/swap includes 1.13 ha of land in the village of Enemona, near coastal town Nesebar, and 5 ha in another coastal town, Pomorie.

The defence ministry will swap a 17.2 ha parcel in Razlog and three buildings in the Betolovoto, an area with 2 golf resorts and a number of holiday villages under development.

dnevnik.bg

Local company Terra Tour Service has announced plans to invest 71.8 mln levs in a golf resort near the town of Pravets, 40 min away from the capital city of Sofia. The project will be granted a First Class Investor certificate by the InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority. Terra Tour Service is managed by Vasil Zlatev, father of Lukoil Bulgarian executive director Valentin Zlatev.The 60 ha resort will comprise a PGA-level course, clubhouse and 35 villas.
Terra Tour Service, which owns 4 hotels, game parks, sports venues, spa center and a Pomorie holiday complex, plans to self-finance 30% of the project cost and borrow the remainder.

The Pravets development is the 5th golf resort awarded a First Class Investor certificate after projects in Pomorie, Razlog, Kavarna and the village of Kurilo near Sofia.