The Wall Street Journal and London-based newspaper The Independent have published articles praising the investment opportunities in Bulgarian properties. In an April 18 report in The Independent, which describes Bulgaria as a “beautiful country”, writer Robert Nurden says that Bulgaria property investment falls into four main categories.
The first is in the capital city, Sofia, which is “growing economically and geographically faster than any other former East European capital”. The bulgarian property boom has now hit the centre, with locals themselves pitching into the market, always a good sign, the report says.
“These are fantastic investment opportunities in a city that is becoming more cosmopolitan and whose economy is stable and performing well,” they are quoted as saying.
The mountains provide opportunity number two, The Independent states.
The report praises the infrastructure at Bansko, and says that in the past two years, it has added on a large number of apartment blocks geared to the winter season. In Bansko, a typical two-bedroom, newly built apartment costs 71 000 pounds, “with the mouth-watering prospect of a rise in values of about 20 per cent a year”.
“The Black Sea, with its sunshine, cheap beer and great food, beckons investors too. Locations such as Sunny Beach may be set to become the new Costa del Sol.” The report says that there are signs that Bulgarian property is throwing off its bottom-end-of-the-market image and moving towards building more luxurious Bulgarian properties.
The Government has introduced legislation aimed at protecting the coast from the worst gourmandises of the Spanish costas, the report says.
The article quotes another estate agent: “But the really canny investment, and one open to those on a low budget, is to buy land. Plots are unbelievably cheap”.
She continues: “If you are prepared to look at undeveloped areas, either by the coast or inland, you can pick up good agricultural land for as a little as eight euro a square metre. The town of Kavarna would command prices of 70 euro a square metre, and Balchik 58 euro. But I have heard of a plot going for three euro a square metre inland’.
On April 19, The Wall Street Journal reported that real estate investors are continuing to flock to Central and Eastern Europe, to the point where there is not enough buying opportunities to go around.
“As countries join the European Union, they are viewed as more stable, making investors more likely to jump in with their money,” the WSJ report says.
Source: Sofia Echo