Mountain properties « BulgariaBoom.com

June 25, 2009

Crisis Hits Bulgaria Real Estate Market

According to Property Wire, the crisis has hit hard the Bulgarian real estate market:

The global economic downturn and poor management of investments have undermined the Bulgarian real estate market in the first half of 2009 with the office segment being the most severely hit, according to a new survey.

The commercial sector has been badly affected by ample supply and flagging demand, says the survey by Foros real estate agency.

Around 20 to 30% of offices across the country are empty. Rental and sale prices have decreased by 12.27% and 7.26% respectively since January.

The residential property market is also suffering. Jones Lang LaSalle has estimated the decline at 12% in Sofia in the last year while real estate agency Address puts it at 16 to 38% in the last six months alone.

Analysts from Foros are predicting sporadic investment activity in the second half of the year. Development projects will be delayed and a recovery is not expected until the economy improves.

However, some analysts see the green shoots of recovery in consumers’ revived interest and restored confidence, as well as in decelerated price downtrends.

Although there is dismay among environmentalists that what they regard as development that impact on areas of importance are still being given planning permission.

They are campaigning against a €2.2 million residential property development near the town of Kavarna in north east Bulgaria. They claim that the July Morning holiday village being developed by Bulgarian Land Development will have a serious impact on a site of natural beauty.

It is part of plans for a much bigger €40 million development that will have 351 homes, a spa centre, restaurants, golf and football pitches and five swimming pools.

Work begins on the €2.2 million first stage next month and it will have 55 apartments. ‘This development will destroy nature. It will also harm the coastline,’ said one group spokesman.

Meanwhile and Irish company, Blackwater Homes, which is currently promoting a 354 apartment complex in the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, including a spa and a hotel, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

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June 20, 2007

Maltese warned not to buy property in Bulgaria

Filed under: Bansko properties, Beach properties, Bulgaria property, Mountain properties, Property development, Property news — Administrator @ 5:24 am

Are we looking at the beginning of the end? Only time will tell but in the mean time, here’s the article (from MaltaStar.com).

Serious property investors are now choosing not to invest in Bulgaria as the property market in this country is now saturated and property prices are expected to start decreasing soon as the property bubble has burst, local real estate advisor Alyona Frendo warns.

Experts are advising Maltese property investors not to continue with the dangerous trend of purchasing land and property in Bulgaria as investors may start losing money as from this year.

The main problem with Bulgaria is that everyone is building even with permission from Bulgaria’s permit authority and the Bulgarian Government announced that it will start tracking such illegal constructions and property. The authorities in Bulgaria are estimating that around 25 per cent of all property in Bulgaria is actually built without permit.

�When buying in another country, most people never do much more research than what is given to them from the investment company. This is a dangerous habit. Everyone between the potential buyer and the property is just a salesperson, and they all get paid on making sales.” said Alyona Frendo a local international property advisor.

Foreign citizens and companies have spent a total of 310 million euro in acquiring real estate in Bulgaria during the first three months of 2007.

Bulgarian National Bank data published on May 29 shows that the 310 million euro is an increase of 63 per cent compared with the same period in 2006 when foreigners spent a total of 190 million euro in Bulgaria�s property market. Proof of the impact that the real estate sector has on the Bulgarian economy is that the money spent on real estate accounted for close to 40 per cent of all foreign direct investment in Bulgaria in January-March 2007.

Bulgaria has also been criticised for focusing on the development of property at the expense of infrastructure projects, such as those for transportation.

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December 2, 2006

Bansko homes

Filed under: Bansko properties, Bulgaria property, Mountain properties, Property for sale, Property news — Administrator @ 2:37 pm

As prices for some properties in Bansko fall, there appears to be more choice for the selective buyer.

Historical houses, in some cases over 200 years old, are looking for buyers as well. Calling it your Bansko home might not be as straight-forward as buying an apartment though.

In most cases, these properties are not actively on the market and are in a sorry state. The owners have passed away and the people who inhereted them don’t care much about the property itself. They are still interested in selling the plot itself (often at bargain prices).

There are a few of these houses nearby Bansko as well, in a small town called Dobrinishte. Dobrinishte is a spa and thermal center with 17 mineral springs. The temperatures of the springs range from 33?? to 45??.

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November 17, 2006

Golf course near Bansko

Filed under: Bansko properties, Mountain properties, Property development, Property news — Administrator @ 2:29 pm

According to a press release:

Balkanstroy, the local construction company, will build a ski and golf complex near Bansko, South-western Bulgaria, said the InvestBulgaria Agency which is due to issue a First Class Investor certificate to the project. The 240 mln lev complex, located in the Kulinoto area, should be ready in 3 years.

Balkanstroy will built 20 km of ski lifts and 60 km of runs with a daily capacity of 6,500 skiers. The complex will have a total of 3,000 beds.
The golf component of the year-round complex will feature a golf course, clubhouse, hotel and retail facilities.

The new golf courses announced are part of the plan to turn Bansko in a all-seasons resort (complete with spas, horse racing, mountain biking, etc.).

Hopefully this will change the image of Bansko as a ski resort for yuppies (e.g. people working in Bulgaria’s IT outsourcing industry).

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November 16, 2006

Assetz: Prices in Bansko fall

Filed under: Bansko properties, Mountain properties, Property development — Administrator @ 2:16 pm

The British consultancy agency Assetz recently concluded the following:

Investment in British property offered higher return rates and lower risk than a similar deal concluded in Bulgaria.

In the past months the situation in Bulgaria began to change. The annual credit growth decreased significantly from 36 per cent in 2005 to 13.9 per cent in September 2006.

Prices of property located in attractive regions, like Bansko winter resort, decreased during the second quarter of 2006, agents said.

Over-supply furthered competition between property owners, which also affected prices. Bulgaria�s rapidly developing tourism sector could not cope with this over-supply, Assetz analysts said.

Personally, I haven’t noticed a drop in prices for Bansko homes. At least when it comes for development projects. Prices for appartments and studios fluctuate quite a bit so it’s more difficult to identify a trend.

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June 18, 2006

Bulgaria – Winter Olympics 2014

Filed under: Bansko properties, Investment property, Mountain properties — Administrator @ 5:13 am

Sofia 2014 Winter Olympics There’s still an year to go before the IOC announces the winner (July 7, 2007, at IOC session in Guatemala City). Bulgaria’s bid for the Winter Olympics of 2014 is Sofia (along with Borovetz and Bansko ski resorts). Sofia’s bid was the first to hit the table in 2004.

The current favorite is Austria’s bid – Salzburg. In a couple of days, IOC is expected to select the initial short list of 2014 candidates. Hopefully Sofia will be among them. In the unlikely event that Sofia wins the bid, property prices in the ski resorts are expected to soar as millions of euros will go into infrastructure projects.

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May 26, 2006

Thermal and Spa centres

Filed under: Investment property, Mountain properties, Property news — Administrator @ 5:06 am

Dobrinishte is a village just a few kilometers from Bansko. It sports 17 mineral springs: 16 natural and 1 through deep drilling. The temperatures of the springs range from 33?? to 45??. The water is colourless / odourless and a low mineral content which makes it suitable for drinking.

Dobrinishte - thermal and spa centres There is a numbe of projects that are focused on building artifical “villages” in traditional Bulgarian style around some of the springs.

The house prices (per square meter) are significantly higher than those of similar houses in Dobrinishte or Bansko. If you’d like access to a spa at all times or you feel like getting some much needed rest away from people, such a village is a good choice.

As an investment property, such a house could bring in significant rent as the spas are getting more and more popular. Being just a few kilometers from Pirin National Park can’t hurt either.

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May 4, 2006

Restoring historical houses

Filed under: Investment property, Mountain properties, Property news — Administrator @ 8:30 am

The latest of series of articles about the Bulgarian real estate market in International Herald Tribune explores the Veliko Turnovo region � it is far from the sea and ski resorts, but has become one of most popular places in Bulgaria to buy a second home, especially for the British.

Veliko Turnovo - historical houses for sale Veliko Turnovo‘ s varied past is reflected in its architecture. Founded by the Romans, it was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire from 1185 to 1393, when it fell after a three month siege to the Ottoman Turks, who controlled the entire region until the late 19th century.

The town’ s natural fortifications are visually stunning. It is surrounded on all sides by the Balkan mountain range, from which the peninsula takes its name, and overlooks the Yantra River, which snakes through a valley far below.

The wooden Turnovo houses have white washed facades, oak balconies and roofs of red ceramic tiles.

In the past several years, about 10 Ottoman-era houses were sold to Britons intent on high-end restorations. Most of them were registered as national monuments of culture, so government approval was required before any changes could be made.

Some of the finest examples of Ottoman-era houses are in the village of Arbanassi, about five kilometers, or three miles, away on a hill overlooking the city. Because the entire village is classified as a national monument, the building materials are strictly defined: oak, sandstone, red ceramic roof tiles, traditional straw and plaster walls.�

You can live comfortably in a national monument of culture for only 20,000 to 40,000 euros, however the cost of restoration is estimated between 50,000 and 130,000 euros.

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