Latest Property and Economy news from Bulgaria. News for Visitors and Investors

23.11.2007 Half of Bulgaria’s real estate deals remain in the grey economy

Profitability from investments in real estate in Bulgaria was between 6 and 7 per cent, Strahil Ivanov, manager of Yavlena said.
He said, that on average, investments were returned after 15 to 16 years, .Almost half of the property deals in Bulgaria remain in the grey economy, according to research by real estate agency Yavlena.
The inquiry was presented on November 20 at the 10th economic forum of Central European Initiative (CEI), mediapool.bg said.
The real volume of property transactions in Bulgaria over 2007 could be close to 11.36 billion euro. The officially declared volume was expected to be around 5.66 billion euro. The transparency rate in the Bulgarian real property market was close to 50 per cent, according to Yavlena agency.

22.11.2007 Residential prices will repeat the 2005 trend

The results are a part of real estate agency's wide report on prices, trends and perspectives of Europe's property market, comprising market overviews of 17 European countries. Data is compiled by ERA's local offices. House prices in Bulgaria have recorded a 30 per cent grow since the beginning of the year. There was a 37 per cent rise in 2005 but this fell to 14.7 per cent in 2006, reliable source, toldat a news conference.
Property prices in the country have recorded a 2.64-fold grow for the last five years, reliable source noted. Prices in Sofia are about three times higher than they were in 2001.
Property prices in big cities will keep rising, following the already established trend. Sofia and Varna enjoy the biggest demand. The price hike, registered in the two cities, for the third quarter of the year alone, is between 13 and 18 per cent on an annual basis.
Luxury real estate also boasts a stable growth - the first nine months of the year recorded a 28 per cent grow bigger.
The mid-range price of a housing unit in Sofia for 2007 is 1904.8 leva a sq m, while the national average stands at 1118.8 leva a sq m, according to ERA's statistics.

21.11.2007 Resorts' supply leave behind demand

Demand for holiday real estates in Bulgaria has slumped over the last year. Clients' interest in the buy of apartments and houses, located in gated compounds in resorts, has abated, resulting in stagnation or even decreasing prices.
This has affected the land market. The supply of plots is almost double the demand in most vacation villages, both coastal and mountain, according to a survey, commissioned by Investor.bg.
Currently, there are almost 400 plots on sale in Bansko. They account for as much as 51% of all plots offered in Blagoevgrad region, while demand for land is only two per cent. Prices vary between 40 and 200 euro a sq m, depending on the stretch to the ski lift, to golf courses or to the town centre.
Razlog and Dobrinishte show similar trends to Pamporovo where land supply outstrips demand. There are almost 300 plots of land on the market and asking prices vary between 15 and 150 euro a sq m.
Chepelare and Stoikite villages also see a appreciable supply. Consequently, prices of plots stand at 20 to 90 euro. Out of all the large resorts in this area, Sandanski is the town with the lowest number of plots of land offered for sale - about 70 at an average price of 68 euro a sq m.

20.11.2007 Serbian Delta Maxi thinks over purchase of Hit in Sofia

Serbia's Delta Maxi is negotiating the purchase of two of German discount retailer Hit's supermarkets in Sofia, Dragan Filipovic, Delta Maxi's manager, announced.
The Serbian company gained Bulgarian supermarket chain Piccadilly not long ago and declared its intention to open 20 new outlets of different retail formats under the newly acquired brand.
If the transaction with Hit ends successfully, the two outlets will be renamed Tempo, Delta's discount supermarket brand. Negotiations with Hit are awaited to conclude by the end of the year, told Filipovic.
The German retailer runs supermarkets in the Sofia neighborhoods of Mladost and Lyulin. It at irst planned to invest 50 million euro in 15 outlets but its local expansion plans ended after the launch of its second branch.
Hit decided to downscale its Bulgarian project in 2006. Rumour has it that Hit has been offering its outlets to potential buyers for some time, though company officials denied this. Neither would they comment on the present deal.

19.11.2007 Smolyan Municipality imposes a prohibition on construction

The official order of Smolyan Municipality, prohibiting building works in Pamporovo resort for the period December 10, 2007 - March 30, 2008, came into force without any court appeals lodged against it, Dora Yankova, Smolyan's mayor, said. The ban applies only to the number of projects being developed on the territories within the boundaries of Smolyan Municipality.
The newly elected Chepelare municipal government has an intention to issue a similar order. Builders are supposed to clear the plots and render their construction sites safe-proof.
Smolyan Municipality will also update the order for limitation of sledge-cars in the resort. Authorities will point out the itinerary in which movement of motor sledges will be allowed. Their access to ski runs will be limited to certain hours in the day, chiefly for supplying restaurants located along the ski runs.

17.11.2007 Sozopolis breaks ground

Immofinance and Bellevue Property Management turned the first sod of Sozopolis holiday village, to be situated on Kolokita island, 2 km south of Sozopol.
The project was presented by Ivan Nikolov and Ivan Takov, managing directors of Immofinance and Mihail Zaimov, project manager.
The new holiday complex would spreads over 88 500 sq m plot and would consists of 147 separate units – single and two-family houses, offering a total of 167 residential units, including shops, eateries, a luxury hotel with SPA centre, offices and party places.

16.11.2007 Infrastructural improvements to take place in Bansko winter resort

"The roads which connected villages in the area are fourth-rate." EU funds are to be used to pay for a series of infrastructure betterment in a popular Bulgarian tourist spot, PropertyShowrooms.com reports.
According to The Sofia Echo, up to 280 000 euro are to be put towards upgrades to the road network in the Bansko municipality. Even though the region is highly popular as a skiing resort, Bansko mayor Alexander Kravarov believes that transport links in outlying areas could benefit from extra investment.
He was quoted as saying that the roads which connected villages in the area were "fourth-rate." Money will also go towards renovating old buildings such as St Trinity Church in the old quarter.

15.11.2007 10-15 per cent increase of UK tourists visitung Bulgaria

Growth of UK tourists to Bulgaria was prognosticate at 10-15 per cent by the biggest Bulgarian tour operators at the London Tourism Fair, Bulgarian National Radio BNR reported.
Traditionally winter was the more lucrative tourist season, BNR said.
British tourists preferred mainly 4 and 5-star hotels with interest in all-inclusive packages on the rise.
Anelia Kroushkova, chairperson of the Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism, however, expressed her disenchantment with the appearance of the Bulgarian counter and the work of the company who dealt with the project.
Kroushkova said that the delay in the assembly brought tension among tour operators participating in the fair.
Power-cuts at the opening of the fair and during the fair have prompted the agency to consider further steps against the company.

14.11.2007 Sofia's Students' city in the look of investors and home buyers

Studentski Grad (Students City) borough in Sofia's south saw a dynamic and interesting development in the last 10 years. At the moment, the neighbourhood is a flowery mixture of ugly, communist-era students' hostels, newly built apartment blocks, and fashionable bars.
Studentski grad stay untouched by the construction boom until 2000, when smart investors started building stylish cafes and shops, Kapital Weekly announced. Heavy construction in the borough took place three years ago. The number of free plots in Sofia's other southern residential districts has decreased significantly, so investors turned their interest towards the university city.
Now projects for single apartment blocks have turned into small residential complexes included several buildings. There is a great possibility that, in the near future, the number of year-round residents of the borough would outstrip the number of the students. At the moment, there are 50 000 students living in Studentski Grad from all around the country and another 30 000 with constant residences.
Newly built apartment buildings are crop up in the former "green areas" between the hostels and in the district's periphery. New apartments are offered for off-plan sale mostly. Although there are finished apartments, owners do not offer them for sale or rent, so causing limited supply and price hikes.

13.11.2007 CBA Asset Management opens a outlet in Veliko Turnovo

The local company CBA Asset Management introducted a new supermarket in Bulgaria's Veliko Turnovo last Friday. The company's network of outlets now numbers 11, along with this newly launched unit.
There are five supermarkets situated in Veliko Turnovo, four in Rousse, and two in Gabrovo and another store opening planned at Retail Park Veliko Turnovo.
The company's first commercial construction is located in Sofia's Svoboda neighbourhood. It has a gross leasable area of 1 400 sq m and already enjoys full occupancy.
CBA Asset Management plans to develop convenience shops in the large neighborhoods of northcental Bulgaria's cities, Ivailo Marinov, the executive director, announced. The company is considering business opportunities in Bulgaria's large regional cities and opportunities abroad, as well.
They plan to secure financing for their future undertakings through staging an initial public offering, which will make use of a book-building procedure. The company will float 3.9 million new shares at a par value of 1 lev and a minimum issue price of 2 leva.
CBA Asset Management currently has 16.3 million leva in capital, which will grow to 20.2 million if the IPO, scheduled for November 14-16, is successful. The net proceeds from the IPO are estimated at 5.506 million leva

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