Archive for the 'Coastal property' Category
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Bulgaria and Russia have the highest taxation residential properties
Bulgaria and Russia rank among countries with highest rates of tax on residential property deals, says Global Property Guide research.
Research examined several types of expenditure including registration fees, real estate agency commissions, taxes for purchase and VAT, 24 Chasa daily reported.
Results for Bulgaria and Romania showed that purchase expenditures were nearly 25 per cent of the property value, the main reason being VAT.
VAT in Bulgaria is 20 per cent and 18 per cent in Russia. This is the factor ranking Romania and Bulgaria on the top positions concerning residential property taxation.
Out of old European Union (EU) countries, Belgium and Italy have the highest expenditures on property deals, the lowest feature Estonia, Slovakia, Litva and Danemark with less than five per cent of the property value.
Expenditures are higher in southern Europe and lower in UK and the Scandinavian countries.
The commission for the real estate agency is usually shared between the seller and the buyer. Research said that it usually ranges between 1.25 and 1.5 per cent for both sides. In Bulgaria the figure is 2.5 per cent to three per cent for both sides.
Monday, July 16th, 2007
Commercial projects in Bulgaria offered for “off-plan” sale
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.
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
First yachts to dock at Golden Sands resort marina in 2009
Several major investors have plans for the construction of a yacht port in Bulgarian Black Sea resort Golden Sands, said Nikolai Nedkov, executive director of Golden Sands AD.The cost of the marina project is seen at 7-8 mln euro, a resource that the resort operator will be hard press to come up on its own due to the ongoing implementation of other top priority infrastructure projects, said Nedkov.
Work on the port has already began but 2/3 of the facility are yet to be completed. The resort has spent this year 1 mln levs on new berths and landscaping.
The resort official said the yacht marina should be ready within 1-2 years.
The yacht port is adjacent to a 1.5 ha amusement park that is being developed by the resort operator and the Parkstroy company. A 120-seater sea food restaurant, mini golf and paint ball courses and a 120-car parking lot have already opened in the complex.
The investment spending of the resort operator has topped 10 mln levs so far in 2007.
Bookings are expected to add 6-7% this year, said Nedkov. Current occupancy is at 85%
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Emerald Resort complex opens at Bulgaria’s Black Sea southern coast
Emerald Resort, one of the largest holiday complexes at Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea coast with a gross actual area of 150 000 sq m opened its doors for quests and visitors. The gated complex is located in the southern part of the village of Ravda and has well-developed infrastructure.
The complex consists of five separate buildings. Emerald Resort is built in a natural park area featuring rare plant species, some of which as much as 75 to 80 years old. Investors spent almost 50 million euro in the project development. Construction took investors two years.
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
Tsarevo, Pomorie and Ahtopol coastal towns consider yacht marina projects
Coastal municipalities Tsarevo, Pomorie and Ahtopol will team up with private or otherwise investors for the construction of yacht ports in each of the three Black Sea resort towns, Bulgarian transport minister Petar Mutafchiev said last week.
Recent legislative changes transferred to the local authorities title over the port facilities ensuring an additional revenue source and an incentive for the development of sailing tourism.
Another two coastal ports, Sozopol and Nesebar, remain on the list of facilities that will be operated under a concession arrangement.
The respective municipal councils will now have to vote to redefine the status of the ports as public municipal property and then move to review their development plans.
The international yacht marina planned for Pomorie should be completed within 3 years, said architect Ivan Avramov from the municipality. The Pomorie local government will contribute 8-10% of the necessary funding. Avramov said the municipalities has already had talks with local and foreign investors on the creation of a joint venture to implement the project.
Tsarevo will be developed as a yachting, sea cruise and commercial fishing destination, said city mayor Petko Arnaudov. An Italian company and an outfit registered in Monaco are reportedly interested in the Tsarevo port.
The cost of upgrading the Tsarevo and Ahtopol ports to welcome contemporary yachts is seen at 20-30 mln levs.
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
The Bulgarian company Unique Estates is the new affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates
Bulgaria is the first of the 12 new EU members, where the leading brand for luxury properties Christie’s Great Estates chose for its new affiliate the Bulgarian company Unique Estaes Luxury Properties.
The contract was signed yesterday June 26th, 2007.
Christie’s Great Estates is the world’s largest network of real estate brokers specializing in the marketing and sale of luxury properties. The company is fully owned by Christie’s International – the world’s biggest auction house. The Chrisite’s Great Estates global network includes nearly 35 000 sales associates operating from 850 offices in more than 35 countries. The network’s combined annual sales top $125 billion.
Unique Estates is a Bulgarian company, specializing in luxury properties and is part of the biggest real estate holding in Bulgaria AG Capital. The negotiation process with took more than two years.
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Polish developer GTC to build shopping mall in Varna
GTC Bulgaria, the local unit of Polish developer GTC, has acquired a 65% stake in a retail project in Bulgarian coastal city Varna, the parent company said in a press release on its corporate website. The project comprises 37,000 sq m of net rentable area.
Upon completion, scheduled for Q4 2008, the shopping center will generate about 9.5 mln euro in rental income annually. The company said it has also agreed the terms for the acquisition of two more retail sites in Bulgaria. The remaining 35% belongs to the owner of the land, a reputable local entrepreneur.
The total development cost, including land, is estimated at 77 mln euro.
A zoning permit has already been obtained for the project. Construction will start as soon as a building permit is received.
The shopping mall will be located at the intersection of the city’s major transit routes, next to popular housing districts. Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and one of the main tourist destinations on the Black Sea coast, with 330,000 residents.
At the moment, there are two shopping and entertainment centers in development in Varna. Interservice Ouzounov, the Bulgarian home appliance and consumer electronics retailer, is building Mall Varna while a real estate investment trust owned by the local Ford dealer is developing Pfohe Mall. Both should open by the end of 2007.
Orchid Mall Varna, a project of property developer Orchid Developments, is also due for kick-off. In addition to the site in Varna, GTC Bulgaria has agreed on terms for the acquisition of two other retail projects in large Bulgarian cities.
The two projects comprise a total 60,000 sq m of net rentable retail space. The completion of those transactions is subject to positive results of due diligence.
In June 2006, Polish news portal bankier.pl. reported that GTC Real Estate Investments Bulgaria will invest 1.5 mln euro in a new office development in Sofia.
It was reported that GTC Real Estate Investments Bulgaria planned to buy a 4,500 sq m lot for the construction of 7,200 sq m of office space.
Construction was due to get underway in the second half of 2006 and finish by early 2008.
In April 2006, GTC said it had signed an agreement to acquire 3,800 sq m of land in an attractive district in the Bulgarian capital, in proximity to the American Embassy. The acquisition price was named at 2.4 mln euro. The lot was zoned for the development at least 11,600 sq m of net office and retail space. Construction was scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2007.
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
Bulgarian Dinevi Bros opens Romanian holiday homes complex in Mamaya
Dinevi Group, a Bulgarian company investing in realty and tourism projects, will open over the next couple of weeks a holiday homes village called “Sveti Vlas” in Romanian resort Mamaia, said company co-owner Yordan Dinev. The builder will be Romanan company ProConnex Universal.
The 55 apartments in the 4,500 sq m complex range in size from 50 to 100 sq m. There is a restaurant, piano bar and pool. The bulk of the holiday homes were sold to Romanian buyers but there were a few Bulgarians as well, said Dinev.
Dinevi Group has started work on a pair of identical developments in Romania which should be completed in 2008. The company owns other land plots in Romania in holiday destinations as Mamaya, Efurie North and Neptune, which will also be developed, said Dinev.
More Bulgarian companies are expected to follow in Dinevi’s footsteps and tap the Romanian market which is overhauling its existing bed inventory with ample room for the adding of more capacity.