Bulgarian Property :: Real Estate in Bulgaria Blog

Bulgaria's capital least expensive city for expat in Europe report`

2007-06-23T17:11:00.000+01:00

Sofia is the least expensive city for expatriates in Europe according to research of UK human recourse consultant company Mercer.

Bulgaria’s capital ranks 108th with a score of 72.5, the report said.

Research was based on information on prices of property, transport, food, clothing, entertainment.

Moscow is the most expensive city in Europe and in the world with a score of 134.4. The appreciation of the ruble against the US dollar and the high residential prices increased the cost of living for expatriates in the city.

London moved three positions up compared to data for 2006 and reached the second place in the ranking.

Other expensive European cities include Copenhagen, Geneva, Zurich, Oslo and Milan.

The world’s most expensive cities after Moscow and London are Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong.

Source: Sofia Echo

Industrial Property Market in Bulgaria Underdeveloped- report

2007-06-22T16:43:00.000+01:00

Industrial property market in Bulgaria is poorly developed as property supply meets 60 per cent of demand.

Most warehouses, production facilities and logistics centres offered on the market are old and in bad condition while prices fail complying with market criteria, Pari daily reported.

Monthly warehouse rent in Sofia vary between 3.5 euro and 4.5 euro per sq m and sales prices between 450 euro and 500 euro per sq m.

The report said that a good opportunity for long-term renting is municipal property due to low prices. Such properties require sufficient amount of initial investment in repair works and reconstruction as the buildings are usually old and in bad condition.

Source: Sofia Echo

Residential Property Prices In Bulgaria up Nearly Eight per cent In 2007

2007-04-22T20:48:00.000+01:00

Prices of residential property in Bulgaria for the first three months of 2007 went up by 7.74 per cent compared to figures for the last quarter of 2006.

The price growth in beginning of the year was fast and slowed down in March, Dnevnik daily reported.

The highest price increase was registered in the coastal city of Bourgas, over 17 per cent. Finished appartments in good condition and luxurious apartments are the most preferred residential property on the market.

Plovdiv ranks second in price increase as the figures for the fisrt quarter of 2007 showed a 6.8 per cent growth compared to prices over the last quarter of 2006. Newly constructed residential property in one of the largest residential districts in Plovdiv Kyuchuk Paris costs from 500 to 520 euro per sq m in March 2007.

Prices in Sofia went up by 2.61 per cent.

The coastal city of Varna outstripped Sofia in real estate prices. The average price of residential property there reached 765 euro per sq m for the first quarter of 2007. In comparison, the prices in Sofia for the same period were estimated to 726 euro per sq m.

Supply consisted mainly of new constructions in the first months of the year. Many owners still refrain from offering the most attractive apartments for sale since they await the period shortly before completion, when a higher price can be demanded.

Source: Sofia Echo April 18 2007

Over 29% of Bulgaria's Property Deals Involve Foreign Investors

2007-03-22T17:58:00.000+00:00

Over 29 per cent of the property deals concluded in Bulgaria in 2006 involved foreign participation, executive director of real estate company Asta Bridge Anton Pankev said.

Nearly 66.87 per cent of all foreigners who bought property in Bulgaria came from UK, he said as quoted by Bulgarian National Radio. The British interest was attributed to regular flights between Bulgaria and the UK.

Irish investors concluded nearly 13 per cent of the property deals in 2006. Americans were involved in six per cent of the deals, Germans in four and Italians in three per cent.

Data showed that 39.93 per cent of investors were interested in winter resort property, followed by sea resorts with 31.13 per cent.
The capital of Sofia attracted 8.11 per cent of property buyers, Pankev said.

UK citizens were interested mainly in property investment and their main motivation for purchase in Bulgaria was price.

The largest number of deals involved the purchase one-bedroom apartments in the popular resorts worth from 30 000 to 80 000 euro.

Irish bought one or two-bedroom apartments at the seaside or in the mountains, investing from 50 000 to 100 000 euro.

Bulgarian property market is beginning to attract Spanish and Maltese investors, seeking construction sites at the seaside and the mountains.

The average property value at the seaside in 2006 amounted to 46 900 euro and that of property in winter resorts reached 90 000 euro.

Apartments in Sofia varied between 30 000 and 80 000 euro in price, Pankev said. Property prices in winter resorts are higher because of the year-round usage possibility.

The property market recently experienced increased foreign interest in the development of spa centres like those in Sandanski, Asta Bridge said.

Source: Sofia Echo

Office Property Market in Bulgaria to Continue Growing - Report

2007-02-25T15:30:00.000+00:00

Though it was unpopular until 2003, the Bulgarian office property market is growing and is expected to evolve further, Landmark Property management board chairman Richard Macdonald said.

Macdonald took part in the first ever property international press tour in Bulgaria. Sofia Echo Media and Central European Property Investment Forum (CEPIF) feature among the organisers of the event.

Sofia already boasts various office property projects and a number of others are in the process of being completed, Macdonald said.

Some of the major office property projects in Sofia include Lozenets Expo, Business Pak Sofia, Business Park West and the developments alongside Bulgaria and Tsarigradsko Shousse boulevards, Macdonald said.

Vacancy rates have fallen dramatically, he said, though no one expected several years ago that the office property market will see such development.

One noticeable office property market trend is that local investors tend to buy, while foreigners rent, Macdonald said. At the moment demand exceeds supply.

Another fact is that the quality of office property projects is constantly improving and will continue becoming better.

Macdonald said that in Landmark’s estimates in the near future rent per sq m will reach up to 17 or 18 euro and yield compression will vary between 6.5 and seven per cent.

Source: Sofia Echo

Russian Property Investor enters Bulgaria's Property Market

2007-02-23T06:53:00.000+00:00

Russian group of companies MIAN announced that it will construct an office centre in Sofia.

Sergei Ozerov, general manager of MIAN said that the group had paid 10 million euro for a plot of 5000 sq m in Sofia.

MIAN planed to construct an office complex of 24 000 sq m build-up area which should be opened in 2008, Bulgarian news agency BTA quoted Russian media as saying.

The company is in a process of selecting partners and mediators fro the project in Sofia.

Ozerov said that the high profitability of the Bulgarian commercial property sector provoked MIAN’s interest in the country.

The group planed to continue investing in office property in Bulgaria and to enter the residential property market, Ozerov said.

MIAN is a group of companies working in all sectors of the property market in the city of Moscow and in the Moscow region.

The group offers all types of construction and intermediary services, including consultation and investment in residential and commercial property. The company manages assets totaling more than $880 million.

Source: Sofia Echo

Bansko-Good Snow, Nice People and Cheap Beer

2007-02-09T18:07:00.000+00:00

The Bulgarian ski resort Bansko is one of Europe's fastest growing winter resorts in Eastern Europe, according to the BBC.

There are 65km of a brand new lift system at hand and a boom of accommodation surrounding. With more lifts coming, a new motorway to the airport and a golf complex next door, this place has become a property boom town.

It's only just been discovered by holiday home investors in the last couple of years, considers the British journalists Dominic Littlewood after his trip in search of foreign hotspots for properties.

Since the past 2-3 years, there is massive increase in the value of property and Bansko wins the reputation of a winter resort with good skiing, good snow, nice people, and cheap beer.

Source: news.bg

HIstory of Bansko in Bulgaria (video from YouTube)

2007-01-28T20:50:00.000+00:00

Bansko Is the Most Expensive Territory in Bulgaria

2007-01-23T07:48:00.000+00:00

According to the western European medias the resort of Bansko is considered as the new Shanghai of Eastern Europe.

There are hotel constructions everywhere and the price for a square meter of land has risen ten times for the last couple of years.

Bansko probably has been the most expensive territory in the whole country. The Bansko resort is compared with Ischgl, one of the top ski resorts in Europe.

At the moment Bansko is one modern and stylish ski resort. There are new ski lifts that reach up near to Todorka peak ( 2800m ) and 65 kilometres of marked ski runs.

More than 40 million EUR have been invested in building the resort's infrastructure. The prices rise by 20% annually and are likely to continue going up. The demand to own a property is higher than to supply one.

There are 150 million EUR investments for the constructions of 200 new hotels. At the moment a square meter of property in Bansko costs 2150 EUR.

Bansko will be host of the European Women's Championship in Alpine Skiing and the European Biathlon Championship.

Source: news.bg

EU intro to boost Eastern Europe markets

2007-01-16T09:22:00.000+00:00

Fresh foreign investment is set to boost the economies of Bulgaria and Romania, following their January 1 EU introduction.

Matthias Siller, emerging markets investment manager at Baring Asset Management, said the stability offered by the EU membership will attract both private and global investment.

He said: “With the governments adhering to EU legislation, investors now have stable predictions about investment framework in areas like property and the title of assets. While this is an on-going process, we expect to see growth in consumer-facing sectors such as banking and residential property.

“Currently there is strong worldwide liquidity, and these markets are exactly where this type of investor will be looking for opportunities.”

With investments easier to obtain, Siller anticipates strong foreign outlay into large companies. Formerly state-run sectors such as Bulgarian utilities are to become privatised under EU legislation, which also presented private equity prospects.

“Energy distribution will be a big future theme. Pan-European or global investors will also seek yield in utilities and real estate.”

Siller also predicts the development of local stock exchanges as liquidity increases and more IPOs are offered. The exchanges would take time to reach a point of critical mass, he added.

The countries are in a very early stage of development, and Siller expects ongoing strong foreign investment and capital growth, he said.

Stan Pearson, head of European Equities at Standard Life, said he is exploring penetration into central and Eastern Europe banking, oil, building and telecom sectors.

The expansion of the EU further into central and eastern Europe and subsequent liberalisation of markets presented investment opportunities and challenges, he noted.

Bernard Moody, global emerging markets fund of fund manager at Progressive Asset Management, said Bulgaria and Romania remained on the fringes of emerging markets, despite the EU introduction.

Markets in the countries were difficult to access, although funds involved in commercial and residential real estate were of interest, he said.

Russian holdings were his top Eastern Europe asset allocation, while Asian emerging markets held more opportunity.

Meanwhile, Turkey and Croatia are expected to be the next countries to join the EU although negotiations for Turkey’s entry stalled in December following conflict with Greece.

Source: Investment Week

UK-listed developer confident in Bulgaria

2007-01-05T09:05:00.000+00:00

While the entry of Bulgaria into the European Union is expected to prompt an exodus of workers from the country in search of better wages, an Aim-listed property company is betting that the number of British holidaymakers heading for the slopes of the Balkan country will continue to rise.

Bulgarian Land Development today said it had bought a 56,093 sq metre site near the winter resort of Borovets, a popular destination with British skiers. It said the purchase price was £3.4m, along with a further £14 per sq metre of the total built-up area and 30pc of any gross sale proceeds over £27m.

Dimitar Savov, an executive director of BLD, said: "All the hotels [in Borovets] are full with British people. There is a strong relationship with British tourist companies."

Property prices in Bulgaria have risen as much as 30pc in the best areas over the past year, while the average increase was around 15pc, Mr Savov said.

The prospect of Bulgaria's entry into the EU, which officially happened yesterday, helped the economy expand 6.7pc in the third quarter and the country is expected to attract a record 4bn of investment this year.

BLD plans to built a resort complex of villas and apartments, covering around 50,000 sq metres, on the site where a factory currently stands.

Mr Savov added that the company was keen to target the growing Scandinavian market. "Ninety per cent of our clients up to now have been British and Irish, with 10pc Bulgarians, Romanians and Russians," he said.

Bulgaria became the latest country to join the European Union, along with Romania. The former communist country applied for EU membership in 1995 and began accession talks in 2000.

Mr Savov said: "We are going to sell apartments to our clients and they can also sign rental agreements. Fifty per cent of the clients are investors - they buy to collect rent and benefit from property prices."

BLD said the site it had bought offered access to ski runs, spa facilities and golf courses. It said the projected sales value of the project was more than £35m. Construction is due to begin at the start of 2008, with the first-phase apartments available for the 2009-10 winter season.

The company said its portfolio had a completed development value of £163m and added that it was in talks over buying further sites.

Shares in BLD were up ½p at 90p in afternoon trading.

Source: Telegraph

Cheap Bulgarian Property Tempts the Russian Buyer

2006-12-28T23:59:00.000+00:00

In Soviet times, Bulgaria was a cheap, if not always cheerful, option for Russian tourists looking for a seaside vacation. Decades later, the country’s improved infrastructure and potential European Union membership, all amid a familiar Slavic setting, is tempting Russians to invest in Bulgarian property.

One of the newest destinations on the international real estate market, Bulgaria is appealing to Russians not just for its pleasant climate and cultural affinity, but also because of low prices. For example, a small resort apartment sells for as little as $35,000, a price tag that is inconceivable in Western Europe.

The market in Bulgaria was especially lively last year, said Darya Pushkaryova, a representative of Best Active, a company specializing in real estate in Bulgaria and other European countries.

Last year, prices grew by 30 to 40 percent, but they have leveled out since then after an explosion in development swamped the market with a supply of new properties.

Though no longer the hottest destination in terms of investment, Bulgaria’s prices are still low among other resorts with developed infrastructure.

Russians with relatively modest means are increasingly seeing property in Bulgaria as potential summer homes, said Kim Waddup, the director of the International Property Show, which took place in Moscow last month.

“The market of international real estate is finally moving because affordable options are drawing in more Russians. ... Not only the wealthiest businessmen looking for luxury property,” Waddup said.

“I spoke with two retired university professors recently, who were looking at an apartment in Bulgaria,” he said.

“These days, going to Bulgaria takes as long as driving to your dacha that is four hours away.”

This year, there were 14 Bulgarian real estate firms at the International Property Show. This is a marked change on the 2004 show, when none of the 34 firms present were from Eastern Europe, but from more traditional investment choices like England and Spain.

“Right now, more people are buying property in Bulgaria to keep for themselves, rather than to invest, since Bulgarian prices are not growing as rapidly as those of Montenegro, for example,” Pushkaryova said.

Another destination that is extremely popular, Montenegro has a less-developed infrastructure, and attracts people who enjoy Balkan rural landscapes more than the condos that spring up across ex-Soviet Bulgaria.

Bulgaria’s current bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, however, is creating interesting opportunities in the country’s ski resort properties, where developing infrastructure is driving up the price, Pushkaryova said, and Bulgaria’s imminent EU membership will continue to push up prices.

What is more, owning property in Bulgaria also entitles the proprietor to residency rights. Russians, who usually need to go through the bureaucratic hassle of visa applications to visit Europe, will certainly bear this mind when considering real estate investments abroad.

Source: The St Petersburg Times

Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria 53% of annual inflow

2006-12-26T00:02:00.000+00:00

Net foreign direct investment inflows surged 53 per cent year-on-year to 3.2 billion euro in January-October while the annualised current account (CA) gap expanded to 14.7 per cent of GDP as of October 2006.

The net inflow of FDI more than offset the negative trade balance, rising 53 per cent to 3.2 billion euro over January-October, or 19 per cent above the CA deficit for the same period, according to Bulgarian National Bank preliminary data. About 53 per cent of all FDI inflow in January-October was reported as equity participation, seven per cent as reinvested profits and the remaining 40 per cent was assigned to other forms of capital transfers, including internal financing from foreign parent companies to local subsidiaries.

FDI breakdown by industry shows that nearly 50 per cent of this year’s non-debt inflows were directed to purchases of real estate or construction projects.

The consumer price index (CPI) grew by 6.1 per cent y/y in November, accelerating from 5.7 per cent y/y in October and 5.6 per cent y/y in September, according to National Statistical Institute (NSI) data. The CPI, however, remained below the period average of 7.3 per cent y/y in January-October and was still much lower overall than 2006’s inflation peak of 8.8 per cent y/y in February.

The speed-up in November was caused by the groups of food and non-food products and restaurant prices, while the group of services has a disinflation effect. On an annual basis, about 50 per cent of the inflation has been generated by excise tax hikes for tobacco and alcohol products that came into effect in the beginning of 2006.

The price index of just 2.6 per cent y/y in the service group for November was quite encouraging for the potential of Bulgaria to meet the price criterion for adoption of the euro, which is based on the harmonised index of European Union and has a much bigger exposure to services than the local consumption weights. Inflation, however, continues to pose risks on the ambition of the central bank and the Government to adopt the euro by 2010, while all other criteria look easily achievable.

The CA deficit widened by 50 per cent y/y in October to 525 million and 69 per cent y/y to 2.67 billion euro in January-October, according to NSI preliminary data. The 12-month CA gap for the period ending in October increased to 14.7 per cent of GDP estimates for the same period, relative to 14.3 per cent a month earlier. Worse performance was recorded in all major groups of the CA balance, as the merchandise trade deficit continued to increase while the positive net inflows for service, income and current transfers narrowed.

Nevertheless, the overall balance of payments remained on a big surplus in the period January-October due to strong inflows of FDIs, which significantly exceeded the CA deficit. Debt-related inflows as well as unidentified transfers booked in errors and omissions also contributed to the large surplus in the balance of payments in January-October and October alone.

Source: Sofia Echo

Varna Office Property Prices Highest In Bulgaria

2006-12-09T14:35:00.000+00:00

Office property prices in Bulgaria's coastal city of Varna reached more than 2300 euro a sq m, Dnevnik daily reported.

Offices in Varna were the most expensive in Bulgaria, imoti.bg data showed.

Price of property in the city centre raised by 20 per cent if compared to the prices for 2005. The cheapest offices in Varna's most prestigious part costed 20 500 euro, or 661 euro a sq m, Dnevnik said.

A number of houses near the city centre were destroyed in the past several years and office and residential buildings were constructed.

Offices in construction in the centre of Varna costed from 850 to 1000 euro a sq m. Such property suffered from the lack of parking places.

Experts said that the office property demand would be focused on the big trade complexes in 2007.

Source: Sofia Echo

Bulgaria To Remove Limitations To Foreigner Property Purchase

2006-12-09T14:33:00.000+00:00

The Parliament was considering a move from forbidding foreigners to own property in the country to some special regulations.

Changes feature in ownership regulations, discussed on first reading on December 7. Voting on the new laws would take place on December 8, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

Such changes were needed because of Bulgaria's upcoming EU entry. The country accepted EU requirements for the free movement of capital.

Foreigners will be allowed to purchase property in Bulgaria, following international contracts. This would guarantee the opening of Bulgaria's property market upon the country's EU entry, the national radio said.

Bulgaria is going to introduce a new term 'citizen of EU member state' to replace the term 'foreigner' used until present in ownership regulations, the report said.

The same regulations would apply to citizens of countries that are members of the European Economic Community and of Lichtenstein, Norway and Iceland.

Current regulations for the acquisition of a second home would remain valid for citizens of EU member countries, who reside permanently in Bulgaria, the report said.

Current regulations for the purchase of property by international organisations will remain unchanged.

Source: Sofia Echo

Bulgaria and Romania to Mark Highest European Growth Retail Property Report

2006-11-26T18:14:00.000+00:00

Bulgaria and Romania would register the highest growth in newly build retail property by the end of 2007, a real estate company Cushman & Wakefield report said.

The retail property growth would reach 150 per cent by 2007, the report said as quoted by the Romanian English language daily Nine O'clock.

Trade centres covering a total area of 98 000 sq m will be built in Bulgaria by the end of 2007.

Once Romania enters the European Union, it will become the second biggest retail property market in Central and Eastern Europe after Poland. Romania plans to construct trade centres of total area of 560 000 sq m.

The countries from Central and Eastern Europe would register the highest growth in retail property supply, the report said

Source: Sofia Echo

500 000 sqm Office Property for Sale in Bulgaria

2006-11-13T14:52:00.000+00:00

Nearly 500 000 sq m of office property will be offered for sale on the Bulgarian property market in the coming year or two.

This is the total area of the projects that were being launched, Forton International (FI) consulting company data quoted by 24 Chassa daily showed.

FI said that tenants had already applied for 120 000 sq m of office areas. It did not mean though that supply would exceed the demand, because the applications were made before the office projects were finished.

Often significant shortage of office property was registered, the FI said. New companies appeared on the market, others were enlarging their business and needed more space. The supply so far had been limited, FI said.

Companies planning business enlargement were mostly looking for office property. Some of them had long-term plans and were seeking new offices to rent after three or four years.

Thus 90 to 95 per cent of the office buildings were rented before even the constructions were finished.

Bulgaria's office property market would suffer a deficit in 2007 and some of the companies would postpone their entry to the Bulgarian market, FI said.

Office property market saturation could be expected in 2008. The supply would exceed the demand, causing a five to 15 per cent rent decrease.

Source: Sofia Echo

Foreigners to be able to buy and inherit proprety in Bulgaria

2006-11-04T09:28:00.000+00:00

The Cabinet decided on November 2 that foreigners in Bulgaria will be able to buy and inherit property in the country.

On November 2 the Cabinet approved changes to ownership laws, Focus news agency reported.

The decision makes Bulgaria's Constitution and the ownership regulations listed there compatible with European norms on the free movement of capital.

Foreigners would be able to acquire Bulgarian agriculture and forest plots starting January 1 2007.

Changes to the Constitution would result in changes in four other regulations. These focus on protected territories, ownership and use of agriculture plots, forestry regulations and regulations for restoring ownership over agriculture and forest plots.

Source: Sofia Echo

Also read:

Bulgaria set to allow foreigners to buy land [makfax]

Spanish property "dented" by Eastern European market

2006-10-31T14:38:00.000+00:00

A growing number of investors seeking to buy property abroad are searching in new locations in Europe at the expense of Spain, according to experts.

Mark Stucklin, head of spanishpropertyinsight.com, says that new developments in Eastern European markets, such as Bulgaria, have "dented" the "overall demand" for property in Spain.

However, the firm argues that the majority of off-plan-investors have left Spain and have chosen to develop property in Bulgaria, increasing the demand for speculative investments in the country rather than houses.

Questioned whether would-be holiday home owners ought to consider Spain over Eastern Europe, Mr Stucklin said: "You get what you pay for and Spain has by far the better climate as well as fabulous resources, in terms of infrastructure and leisure facilities.

"In Bulgaria they are far away from offering any comparison."

A recent report by Assetz revealed that investments in British property were more likely to deliver higher returns than in Bulgaria which no longer offers "instant gains".

Source: London Stock Exchange

Article Poll:

Watch out for Romania and Bulgaria property hotspots

2006-10-20T11:25:00.000+01:00

Romania and Bulgaria are exciting property investors now that the two eastern European countries will be joining the EU in January of next year.

'Last month, 46% of all the overseas property enquiries we received related to Spain and France,' said Mark Bodega, marketing director at currency specialists HIFX. 'But we've also begun to see a significant rise in the number of clients buying property in both Bulgaria and Romania as British investors look to cash in on the European Commission's September decision.'

Bulgaria is one of Europe's fastest growing economies, and has reasonably priced properties in mountain, seaside and city locations, while Romania is eager to cast off its label of being one of the poorest nations in Europe.

The property market in Romania has been growing at an estimated 25% a year for three years, fuelled by speculators who are banking on the country amending its property laws. When it becomes a free market it will receive more than €11billion in EU funding.

Damien Thiery of Romanian Property Ltd said: 'In terms of residential property, there are two main areas of interest amongst foreign investors. First, there is off-plan purchasing in the Romanian capital Bucharest. A studio flat, for example can cost as little as £25,000 off-plan, and if prices rise by 30% as predicted after accession to the EU, British investors could be looking at a tidy profit for a relatively small investment.'

He points out that investors are also being drawn to Brasov and Poiana Brasov, Romania's largest ski resort. An airport is scheduled to open in Brasov in 2008 and a new motorway joining it with Bucharest is also planned, both of which are good signs for the future.

However Bodega warned: 'Make sure you do your research. Does the developer have references and a good track record? Check any facts and figures you are given, be curious and don't be afraid to ask too many questions. Always engage a reputable lawyer who is familiar with the local property laws and who'll be able to give you impartial advice. The less you leave to chance, the less chance things will go wrong

Source: citywire

Eastern European property: Watch out for the Mafia

2006-10-12T11:40:00.000+01:00

Overseas property has never seemed so attractive for the British investor. Flats in emerging markets from Russia to Turkey are being snapped up because they are cheap and prices are rising rapidly.

But the cheapest areas for properties come with a secret that the salesmen rarely mention - they are rife with organised crime.

Countries in the former Soviet Union are having particular problems. The majority of senior officials are left over from corrupt communist regimes and many are feathering their nests by co-operating with gangs or even the Mafia. Bulgaria's problems with organised crime are so big they are delaying the country's entry into the EU, a deadline it may well miss because it is a major transhipment area for South Asian heroin.

Even countries with long-standing stable regimes such as Turkey are struggling to contain organised crime networks.

Just because property is not a traditional area of interest for mobsters does not mean they ignore it, says Professor Gloria Laycock, director of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at University College London.

"Anywhere where money can be made will attract organised crime," she says.

Property prices are rising rapidly in the new EU states and the profits are attractive to organised crime, Professor Laycock says, and also constitute a handy channel for money laundering.

"Housing markets are a really good example because the sums of money are big and you can pay in cash," she says.

The consequences of handing money over to criminals can be severe, even if you are in complete ignorance. If the money can be traced to drugs, you may fall foul of money-laundering regulations.

One of the problems is that some of the countries with flourishing organised crime networks feel quite safe to visit. Latvia and Bulgaria, for example, are welcoming places with little violent crime. Organised crime works behind a smiling face, offering amazingly cheap deals.

Other countries that have recently become investment hotspots have only lately emerged from civil war, including Croatia and Montenegro. Croatia is negotiating to join the EU but this will not happen before 2010. The head of the EC delegation to Croatia was quoted last month as saying that the fight against organised crime in the country is going well, but will have to proceed faster if the situation is to be under control by the planned accession date.

Montenegro, on the other hand, is busy extracting itself from its integration with Serbia, and organised crime is still endemic. In 2004, the editor of Montenegro's daily newspaper, Dusko Jovanovic, was shot dead, apparently by the Mafia. In Serbia, the Mafia was blamed for the assassination in 2003 of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

Despite the gloom, however, investors can avoid being drawn into contact with organised crime by observing a few simple rules.

Rule one is to use a reputable estate agent who speaks both English and the local language. The agent should have a base in Britain so they can be sued in British courts if everything goes wrong.

Check out the estate agents and, if you are looking at new buildings, the developers as well. Run credit checks - they only cost a few pounds but they could save much financial grief later and will also be evidence that you made efforts to ensure you were dealing with reputable people.

Do not attempt to locate dirt-cheap investment property by chatting to local people in bars. Unless you know the area intimately and speak the language fluently, this is an invitation to be ripped off at best, and at worst you can make some very bad contacts indeed.

Locate your own lawyer - never use the lawyer recommended by the developer or estate agent.

Never pay in cash, and decline to get involved if you are asked to pay officials directly. Such payments may be dressed up in bureaucratic language as "facilitation arrangements" or "consultancy fees", but they are illegal.

Don't pay large sums in deposits. Some developers ask for up to 50 per cent of the purchase price up front.

Source: The Independent

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Article Poll:

The Val d'Isere of the future?

2006-10-08T12:44:00.000+01:00

With tiny prices, Bansko in Bulgaria is being touted as a rare chance to buy a place in the snow. But can it live up to the hype?

Bansko: Eastern Europe's answer to Aspen. So runs the hyperbole about one of Europe's newest ski resorts. It's a buzz that the resort's developers are understandably keen to perpetuate. Millions of euros are being spent transforming this small Bulgarian town, which lies three long, lacklustre hours from the country's capital, Sofia, into something Brad and Angelina might head for when in Europe and desperate for powder.

Unsurprisingly, given the hype, Bansko's property market has been undergoing a boom. Brits are pouring their pension plans into buying up cheap ski apartments in anticipation that it will become another Val d'Isere once Bulgaria joins the EU in 2007. With prices from around £20,000 it's not hard to see why investors are joining the gold rush. 'I missed out on Croatia, but I won't make the same mistake with Bulgaria,' declare one British couple with almost evangelical zeal in a property brochure.

But are they right? At first the comparisons with Aspen are hard to fathom. There are the potholes for a start. Millions of them, making a drive around the town far more dangerous than anything that could befall you on the slopes. It sometimes seems that Bansko's streets are simply a collection of holes occasionally interrupted by tarmac along which stray dogs wander. Then there's the endless building sites that make Bansko seem like the set for Auf Wiedersehen Pet and make for depressing horizons.

And the hatchet-faced staff at the lift office who stare at you like they've caught you dog-napping their favourite pooch when you attempt to buy a day pass. I can't see Jack Nicholson giving up his seat at the Hotel Jerome for this.

And then there's the skiing. Bansko's got only 65km of runs - 17 in all: one black, four blues, the rest reds. If you skipped lunch you could do them all in a day. And I'm not even sure the reds are really reds. They're more blues - or somewhere in between: purples? Admittedly there are plans to open up more of the surrounding mountains, but this will be some years off. Bansko is definitely not a place for advanced skiers or even enthusiastic intermediates.

That said, I can't think of a better resort for those on a budget looking to start skiing. My hotel - the Orphey - was pretty good. Get rid of the harsh lighting and the pastel colours and it would have been really good. The four stars it had been awarded might seem a bit generous, but it was smart and clean with big rooms, many of which had balconies, a steam room and a blinged-up swimming pool in the basement that looked like it should double for a porn set. I kept expecting Ron Jeremy to walk in dressed as a pizza delivery man.

Breakfasts and dinners in the hotels are usually buffet style. There is a good variety of fish and meat and lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and salad. Around 60 per cent of those in the Orphey were Brits and most seemed happy with the food - a traditional gripe in many ski hotels. The staff buzzed around efficiently delivering drinks.

Once up the mountain the pistes are wide and excellently groomed. The lifts are modern: the gondola that takes you the seven odd kilometres from Bansko up into the mountain would be the envy of any resort in the world.

Better still, when I went, in mid-March, the slopes were roomy with no queues at the lifts. A six-day lift pass costs £128. Six days of ski school will set you back just £100. Package deals are even greater bargains. Several people I spoke to were enjoying a week's skiing, with equipment, lift pass and a bed in a hotel for under £500. Food up the mountain is cheap too: gluhwein is about 70p, a pizza under £4, local beer £1, and surprisingly delicious kebabs £3.

Boarders will enjoy the fun park and the half-pipe while the nursery slope is an easy introduction for children. And for those who make it to the top of the mountain, where they are rewarded with glorious, uninterrupted views across to the horizon, there is the added bonus of a 16km unbroken trip down into town.

And this is where Bansko comes into its own. The mountain above the town is one giant forest which has been cleared in places to create well thought out pistes. The effect is an enchanting descent, which on Saturday nights is lit by lamps allowing for a memorable night of skiing.

Apres-ski is not hard to find. Bansko has a population of 10,000, but 150 bars. Clearly, Bulgarians are thirsty people. Most of the bars are congregated around a central spine, the oldest part of the town which has some quaint, almost medieval-looking taverns that would not be out of place on the Lord of the Rings film set. Inside you are greeted by roaring fires and irritating power ballads that seem to follow you wherever you go. Memo to whoever wrote Foreigner's 'I want to Know What Love Is': head for Bansko, you will be worshipped as a god.

In the taverns a lavish three-course meal for two with very drinkable Bulgarian wine (honest) will come to under £20 and leave you so stuffed you will wonder how you are going to make it back to your hotel.

This is something you get used to in Bansko. Many of the hotels are a couple of kilometres from the slopes making it difficult to get around.

Fortunately all of them offer regular minibus shuttles to the gondola station (a second station is in the pipeline) but at night you'll probably want to flag a taxi - not always the easiest thing to find. There is none of the street-hawking that some people have experienced at other Bulgarian resorts, notably Borovets. Incidentally, when I was there, skiers were being bussed in from Borovets, the country's foremost ski resort, because Bansko had better snow. Those I spoke to favoured the upstart over its older rival.

In the evening there is a 'Brits abroad' atmosphere in many of the taverns. There's Sky Sports in some, quiz nights in others, while pub crawls and copious shot downing seem almost ubiquitous.

For those looking for something else from their ski holiday, there is target shooting, bowling or fishing in Bansko's many surrounding mountain lakes. You suspect these activities will play a greater part in Bansko's future as the property developers look to turn the resort into a year-round destination to attract the hiking and mountain biking crowd.

Indeed, in a few years' time given the money being thrown at it, Bansko is likely to be unrecognisable. Inevitably, this means prices will rise. Learners on a budget might want to get in before Bansko's transformation is complete.

Essentials

Jamie Doward travelled with Inghams (020 8780 4433; www.inghams.co.uk) and stayed at the four-star Hotel Orphey in Bansko, from £329pp half-board, including flights from Heathrow to Sofia with BA and resort transfers.

Flights are also available from Bristol, Birmingham, and Manchester for a supplement. Pre-book your skis and boots for £76, ski school (four hours a day for six days) for £99 and six-day lift pass for £128.

Source: The Observer

Article Poll:

Bulgaria: Get the party started

2006-10-04T18:00:00.000+01:00

This country is looking forward to joining the EU, but we're already heading over to Europe's new funky-town, says Adrian Mourby

It wasn't all that long ago that the first secretary would summon apparatchiks in black limousines to his summer residence in Varna. "Oh yes," says Anelia. "We used to say the party is everywhere. We still do - but we're not talking politics anymore!" This is the Varna joke. The people of this noisy seaside town enjoy it, but then they enjoy everything. These days it's the all-night party that rules in Varna. In fact, the place has proved so popular with British holidaymakers since British Airways launched flights here earlier this year, that it has extended its schedule to year-round.

A university town with one of the youngest populations in Bulgaria, Varna is the good-time capital of a nation renowned for its love of music, drinking and eating. Anelia and her friends save up all week for one good night out. "We are really snobs," she laughs. "We only want the best. We dress up and stay up dancing till dawn. Then we go into work the next day. I don't know how we do it."

It's all a far cry from the Communist days, and pre-Communist days when King Ferdinand of Bulgaria built his summer palace outside this small garrison port. Until then, Varna had been famous for very little except recurring cholera epidemics and Count Dracula, who, according to Bram Stoker, shipped out of here en route to Whitby. The Ottoman Turks who ruled Bulgaria for centuries preferred a long stretch of beach just to the north of Varna, which they called Ouzounkoum (Long Sands), today known as Golden Sands, the fastest-growing tourist resort on the Black Sea.

With independence from Turkey there came three Saxe-Coburg kings to Bulgaria - Ferdinand, Boris and Simeon. The first of these built Euxinograd, a faux 18th-century palace, for his summer holidays. In 1946, when the People's Republic wrested power from the monarchy, Euxinograd became the first secretary's summer home and people in Varna grew used to the limousines that swept in bearing hatchet-faced men intent on furthering socialism and their suntans. Now Euxinograd belongs to the president of the new democratic republic of Bulgaria. It's open to the public at 10 lev (£3.50) a visit when foreign dignitaries aren't in residence.

Anelia has never been there. People in Varna don't seem very interested in the past. They seem only to look forward, usually to the next party. With beer at only 1 lev (35p) a bottle it's not surprising.

"Is it true they say the sun never sets in Varna?" I ask my young guide.

"Of course it's true," she replies. "In Bulgaria all our sea coast faces east, so we never see the sun go down. Maybe that's why we forget to go to bed!"

I've never met a people with such a zest for life. It's as if generations of fizz built up under Communism and now they can't get the cork back in the bottle. Of course, having near-perfect temperatures helps. Sitting on the same latitude as Biarritz, Varna enjoys very long summer days from May all the way through to October.

The stucco may be falling off the city's gorgeous Art Nouveau buildings and the Navy Museum may consist of just one rusty old submarine but everyone is upbeat. Walking down King Boris Boulevard, Anelia and I are overwhelmed by fashion boutiques and baseball-capped skateboarders. We pass showrooms for expensive Japanese cars and cafés that double as showrooms for micro-skirted waitresses. Everyone is in a hurry to have fun or make money.

"So where do I eat round here?" I ask my cheery companion.

"Everywhere," she says. "You don't need a guide book to eat. Just go walk along the beach till you find somewhere you like."

There is a more serious side to Varna if you want to find it. The Archaeological Museum is housed in an impressive neo-Baroque building that used to be a girls' high school. It contains case after case of burial artefacts from Varna's Eneolithic Necropolis discovered only in 1972. The amount of gold worn by people in pre-Bronze Age Varna is staggering, as is the amount of Greek and Roman statuary in this museum dating from when Varna was the Roman port of Odessus.

But Anelia has not been into the museum since a school trip 10 years ago. This is a town hell-bent on present joys and future affluence. Anelia has seen the big digital clock in Sofia that is counting down the seconds to 1 January 2007, the day that her country - it was announced last week - will join the EU. Then I think she, and many of her friends, will leave in search of their European dreams. All of which makes me sad. Varna could be a beautiful city if people worked a bit harder to repair it, and the tree-lined coast is gorgeous, providing you overlook the occasional gulag-style hotel complex from the Communist era.

I say goodbye to Anelia and drive back to my hotel, the Kempinski, in Golden Sands. It's a huge new marble palace with an Ayurvedic spa and a delightful flight of broad steps down through woodland to the beach. I'm struck by how the steps are much, much older than the hotel.

When I ask inside if there was a building here before the Kempinski no one knows until I meet up with Herr Obermeir, the deputy manager, who has heard that during the days of Communism there was a grand casino on this site. "For apparatchiks only, of course. They arrived by sea and would enter up those steps. When we built the hotel we kept the staircase."

It's ironic that the locals have no memory of this at all. So, it takes a recent arrival from Germany to rootle out the past - but that is typical of Varna nowadays. Absolutely no interest in politics or the past, excited about the future, giddy and hedonistic, just like Anelia herself.

THE COMPACT GUIDE

HOW TO GET THERE: Adrian Mourby travelled to Varna with Balkania Travel (020-7636 8338; balkaniatravel.com). It offers six-night packages from £285 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights and bed & breakfast. British Airways (0870 850 9 850; ba.com) offers return flights to Varna from £200.

FURTHER INFORMATION: See bulgarianembassy.org.uk

Source: The Independent

Romania and Bulgaria to join EU

2006-09-28T14:46:00.000+01:00

The European Commission has announced that Romania and Bulgaria will be admitted to the European Union in January 2007, but under some conditions. Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said both countries made many progresses to join the union.

Barroso: ‘I would like to congratulate the peoples and authorities of Bulgaria and Romania for all their efforts to meet the conditions for joining [the EU]’ Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission said today 26 September 2006 in the plenary of the European Parliament’.

Source: The Romanian Business Newsletter

Eastern delights fail to please

2006-09-26T12:49:00.000+01:00

A ‘stark reversal of fortunes’ in the Bulgarian property market has been logged by property investment specialist Assetz. But France has ‘a strong and stable housing market’, it said.

’The eastern European country's market has not fulfilled its early promise as total returns have plummeted from 104 per cent to 44 per cent due to increased rental competition. Meanwhile, France rose to the top of Assetz's table, which looked at the percentage return on cash invested as a sum of net rental income and capital growth’.

In Bulgaria house prices went up by 1.6 per cent in the second quarter, putting the annual rate of house price inflation at 17.8 per cent, down from 36 per cent. In the popular Bansko ski resort prices have actually fell by 2.1 per cent, Assetz claimed.

The ‘mushrooming supply of properties’ is blamed for the slowdown. There is also fierce competition for rentals as the demand for letting has not matched the furious growth in home construction, said the firm.

’Bulgaria is facing a period of readjustment after a huge initial foreign investment’, reported Assetz managing director Stuart Law. ‘While longer term investors are still set to benefit over the next five to 10 years, as low cost property continues to attract holiday home buyers, there are no longer instant returns to be made in the short term.

‘France, meanwhile, is continuing to perform consistently well. The majority of investors want to make personal use of their property, either as a holiday home or somewhere to retire to, and they are opting for the quality of France as a sophisticated destination over emerging markets such as Croatia and Turkey’.

Bulgaria is attracting multiple property purchasers. One in every 12 purchases in the three months to July 2006 was for more than one apartment, Bulgarian Properties has reported. This is double the number in the first quarter.

‘The new trend for buyers is to look for a combination of a one bedroom apartment and a studio, rather than the pricier two bedroom apartments’, said the firm.

Meanwhile local reports have suggested an Italian businessman is planning to buy a village where only two people currently live to create a resort development. Paolo Bartali says he plans to restore abandoned traditional houses.

Source: Fly2Let