Bulgaria Still Tops Investors' List

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Bulgaria, Turkey and France are the three countries set to see the biggest growth in demand among overseas property investors, a new survey has found.

Fly2let.co.uk reports that the NatWest International Personal Banking League of Buying Abroad found that 75 per cent of mortgage brokers expect to see an increase in the number of people looking to buy in Bulgaria in the next three years. Turkey, with 56 per cent, and France , with 46 per cent, were also expected to see a rise in demand.
Portugal, at 41 per cent, and Spain, with 31 per cent, completed the top five locations expected to be popular with investors.

"With the expansion of the EU, better transport links and an increase in low cost airlines offering cheap available flights to countries all over the world, the choice when buying abroad has increased significantly," Mike Freer, head of business development at NatWest, said.

Búlgaría: Dobrinishte Resort Gains Ground on Bansko

Dobrinishte resort has been attracting investor and tourist interest in recent years. Some see it as an alternative to the front-runner Bansko because of its reduced construction and the ski zone just above the resort, which includes a 5 km long piste - starting from Bezbog chalet and passing by Gotse Delchev lodge – as well as a two-seat lift and a number of drag-lifts.

Real estate agency analysts report a considerable interest in Dobrinishte over the last year. The resort offers the opportunity to develop active winter tourism and explore the mineral springs' potential. Plans are afoot to erect a large ski area in Dobrinishte, encompassing new ski-runs, tourist tracks and a hotel. The developers vowed not to allow massive construction in the resort.

Búlgaría: Sozopol's news

Dnevnik daily reports that the new mayor of the town of Sozopol on Bulgaria's Black Sea has presented the amendments to the urban zoning plan, which would see 10km of coastline between Sozopol and Chernomorets built up into a an upgraded luxury version of of Sunny Beach resort.
Panayot Reizi, decided in November 2007, and new chief architect Roumen Aleksandrov announced plans for the building of beachfront villas, an aqua park, three golf courses and a small runway for charter planes. The suggested developments have been included in the revised general zoning plan of the city of Sozopol and would be presented to the municipal council within the next two weeks.
The planned holiday facilities would be built on privately-owned agricultural plot that is not in regulation still. Construction will be limited in size to small farmstead-type houses with no more than 2-3 floors. Under the revised zoning plan, the Sozopol area should have no more than 150 000 inhabitants during the peak of the summer season.

Golf Tourism Development to Attract Affluent Tourists to Bulgaria

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Bulgaria has turned to golf, a sport not too popular in the country until now, looking to attract affluent tourists, AFP reported.

"Golf tourism development is very important - the regular tourist usually spends from 50 to 100 euro a day, while the golf tourist would rather spend from 400 to 500 euro," a Bulgarian investor said, quoted by AFP.

"Without quality golf courses Bulgaria will remain a cheap destination. It will continue to attract tourist flows, but without any major impact on the economy", he said.

Bulgaria's Black Sea coast and its mountain resorts are popular among more "modest" tourists from Western Europe and those from the former Soviet countries. At the same time savvy investors have anticipated Bulgaria's strong potential as a golf destination.

Climate and nature are similar to those in Spain, one of the most popular golf destinations in the world. Only three golf courses are now functioning in Bulgaria, while 15 are still in the pipeline.

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Rural Properties in Bulgaria – attractive second homes and also a good investment

A lot has been said about the property market in Bulgaria and about the pros and cons of buying a property in this country.

Indisputably, Bulgaria offers:
• A great variety of geographically different areas to suit all tastes.
• The property prices are still below the average minimum in other EU countries.
• Investment in properties in Bulgaria is the most profitable in the world according to statistics for 2007 when the prices increased with around 28%.

These are all facts supported by specialized statistics and analysis.

The property markets in the capital, the ski and beach resorts have been widely discussed as these are the places with the greatest concentration of investment interest and highest returns on investment.

What about the rest of the country? It is interesting to know what the small settlements offer in terms of a chance for a new life and property investment? This article aims to uncover the important aspects about buying rural properties in Bulgaria.

1. Why do foreigners buy rural properties in Bulgaria?

Most of them are attracted by:
• low property prices;
• mild climate;
• low cost of living;
• hospitable Bulgarian people and
• chances to start a new life in a modernizing country with great opportunities.

Bulgaria has been an EU member since 2007, which means easier adaptation for EU citizens to the life in Bulgaria.

Many foreigners like the “back to basics” way of life in Bulgaria:
• living in a quiet, friendly village, not commercialized;
• having a huge garden;
• planting and growing vegetables for a healthy diet;
• having fruit trees in the gardens;
• inviting friends for dinners;
• having more free time and relaxation, away from any noise and pollution;
• slowing down the pace and finding the true things in life;
• socializing and learning new things;
• and many more, because Bulgaria offers something for everyone.

2. Where do foreigners buy rural properties?

The answer of this question can be: “All over the country”.
For the ones who don’t know a lot about Bulgaria these are the towns and villages around the following regional centres: Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Karlovo, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Elhovo, Yambol, Kardjali, Haskovo, Sliven, Vidin, Pleven, Sofia and Montana.

Our section Towns and villages gives a lot of information about the peculiarities of each area.

3. Why are rural properties a good investment?

The statistics usually concentrate on the best investment locations in Bulgaria. However, rural properties have also appreciated in value quite a lot over the years although this is not the main reason why people buy rural properties. Truly, they don’t yield the highest returns on investment, but are a safe investment asset as well as an excellent choice for a second home for vacations or a new life.

Here is what BulgarianProperties’ statistics for 2007 compared to 2006 shows for the rural properties around the following regional centres (the figures reflect only the rural properties price increases):

Plovdiv and Stara Zagora:
2007 price increase: 37% ; Average price in 2007*: 14,000 Euros
Elhovo, Yambol and Sliven:
2007 price increase: 26%; Average price in 2007: 13,600 Euros
Varna:
2007 price increase: 24%; Average price in 2007: 55,260 Euros
Burgas:
2007 price increase: 19% ; Average price in 2007: 31,000 Euros
Montana:
2007 price increase: 19%; Average price in 2007: 6,230 Euros
Kardjali:
2007 price increase: 17%; Average price in 2007: 16,000 Euros
Vidin:
2007 price increase: 16% ; Average price in 2007: 10,500 Euros
Central Balkan area:
2007 price increase: 13%; Average price in 2007: 14,200 Euros

*These are all average prices which serve as indicators for market analysis. There are more and less expensive properties in any of the listed areas.

The statistics are based on completed deals in 2007 compared to 2006 and reflect the real match of supply and demand for rural properties in the different areas. This is the price increase only for 1 year. The numbers will be much higher if we calculate the price increases of the rural properties since 2003 when the property market started booming.

The most expensive areas in 2007 remain Varna and Burgas. The cheapest areas are still Montana and Vidin. Vidin is a prospectively very attractive area with the building of Danube Bridge II and the growing investment in the area. The prices in the other areas tend to become similar with the underestimated areas like Plovdiv and Stara Zagora quickly catching up with the rest with higher price increases.

So, we can say that rural properties are a very stable investment option as it yields a double-digit appreciation per year, which is better than what any bank can offer. More and more newly renovated rural properties are coming to the market for sale, which helps the buyers, who want to buy something that is ready to move in to.

Although the highest returns on investment can be expected from Sofia city properties and the beach and ski resorts (where the properties can also be rented), the rural properties should not be underestimated in terms of safety and value appreciation.

Rural properties in Bulgaria offer numerous chances to experience a new way of life, back to basics, surrounded by the beautiful Bulgarian nature and are at the same time are a good investment protecting the value of the savings people have.

Bulgaria - World Leader for Property Investment

Bulgaria property investment has proven to be the country's economic driver with a record-breaking turnover of €11.36 billion in 2007, investment company Obelisk International says.

As the world's strongest property market in 2007, Bulgaria property investment has made a huge €2.36 billion increase on 2006 figures, and is successfully keeping up the momentum for 2008.

Many local and international property experts predicted the year's increase to reach 25% to 30% however by September the market had actually risen by 32% and many major cities, such as Sofia, are already recording impressive growth this year.

The huge property price rise has been largely attributed to a good mortgage market, high annual revenue of properties and the weak impact of the world's financial crisis on Bulgaria. The Bulgarian financial market has not been impacted by the US sub-prime crisis due to no cross-border banking, with consumer borrowing continuing at a steady growth rate.

Búlgaría: One Billion Euro Invested in Bansko

It has been calculated that in the last 5-6 years about 1 billion euros have been invested in Bulgaria’s winter resort of Bansko. The reason for the great development boom in the resort is the favorable investment climate the local authorities have created, the town’s Mayor Alexander Kravarov said. He added that when the developers are given good working conditions and receive the needed cooperation from the various institutions they do not have to be attracted as they come by themselves.

The projects on which the Municipality of Bansko is working are many. The main projects are related mostly to the development of the areas and the construction of roads, water mains, sewerage, dams for drinking and irrigation water. They are executed in Bansko but also in the neighboring town of Dobrinishte and the adjoining villages.
After the construction boom of immeasurable scale and the just about total exploitation of unoccupied plots of land the demand of properties in the municipality is at a standstill, Mayor Kravarov explained. He also said that this is quite normal due to the international market crisis.

“We depend on the policy of the banks, on the interest rates and on the granted loans,” the Mayor underscored. “The prices of the plots of land here are between 30 and 400 euro per square meter. Foreigners and big construction companies are the groups looking for investment possibilities at the moment. But it must be added that the small construction companies are also quite interested.”

 

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