Independent: Bansko: The upwardly mobile ski resort

"Stephen Wood reports from Bansko, the Bulgarian resort hoping to replace Andorra as Europe's budget skiing capital."
Source: Independent

i-Newswire.com: Investment property in Bulgaria

"Bulgaria was classified as 'the new Costa del Sol' according to the UK Daily Mail one year ago. There are many people who are starting to look for properties in Bulgaria: Footballers from UK football clubs, including Chelsea, property investors from all over the world, people, seeking to buy second or retirement home. Like Croatia, Bulgaria is expecting EU accession within the next few years and this will necessarily lead to a considerable increase in its real estate value. A similar process has already started to occur in Cyprus and when Bulgaria accedes to the European Union in 2007 it is widely believed that Sofia in particular will compete with other leading European capitals as a location for the European offices of many multi-national companies.
Bulgaria also has ranked first in the world for 2005 in the amount of investments, compared to the GDP, a report by the World Bank states."
Source: i-Newswire.com

The Herald: Bulgaria rises to third favourite for holiday homes as Britons find the prices are right

"Bulgaria leapt ahead of Florida, Portugal, and Dubai after marketing the Black Sea coast for summer holidays and inland mountain ranges for skiing.

With the Black Sea coast averaging nearly 300 days of sunshine a year and a good meal for two with wine costing less than GBP8, Bulgaria has also been voted the UK's favourite holiday hot spot by First Choice..."
Source: The Herald

Assetz News: Groundwork laid for Bulgarian Property boom

"A report issued today has referred to Bulgaria as one of the most rapidly advancing nations in Europe and suggests that it is becoming a 'byword for international property investment.'

The report by Property Frontiers supports the assertion from Assetz managing director Stuart Law that 'Bulgaria is likely to continue proving lucrative as a long term investment into 2006.' It reveals that there was an average property price increase of 47.5 per cent in 2004 while growth in the first quarter of 2005 continued to be strong at 10.6 per cent."
Source: Assetz News

AboutProperty.co.uk: Cyprus and Bulgaria ranked top for buying abroad

"Cyprus and Bulgaria have been rated as the best places to buy a property abroad in 2006."

" 'Bulgaria is likely to continue proving lucrative as a long term investment into 2006, with ski resorts boasting year round rentals and yields of up to 12 per cent - as much as double those in the coastal resorts,' Mr Law explained.

'The ski resorts thrive through the summer months, offering activities such as hiking, fishing and mountain biking. The low cost of living (a pint of beer for example, costs 50 pence), new cheap flight routes and world-class ski facilities, mean Bulgaria is now providing healthy competition to the French and Austrian ski markets.' "
Source: AboutProperty.co.uk

Assetz News: Groundwork laid for Bulgarian Property boom

"The last week has seen a number of key developments in Bulgaria that appear to have paved the way for the expected property boom in the coming years."
Souurce: Assetz News

Bansko winter season opened

"A total of 600 000 tourists are expected to visit Bulgaria's winter resort of Bansko this season. The prediction was 20 per cent higher than the actual number of visitors the previous winter, Bansko mayor Aleksander Kravarov told a press conference for the opening of the new season. The increase would come from the number of foreign tourists. The number of Bulgarians visiting the resort was expected to remain the same, Kravarov said.
Ski champions Rosi Mittermaier, Franz Klammer and Mark Girardelli attended the opening and participated in a ski demonstration.
According to international ski websites Bansko is one of the fastest developing winter resorts in Europe. In the past two years more than 100 tourism facilities have been constructed. Investment in the resort reached 180 million euro in the past three years, Standart newspaper reported."
Source: The Sofia Echo

Greek Investors Eye Bulgaria's Real Estate Market

"More and more Greek investors are showing interest in Bulgaria's real estate market, Greek MPA news agency reports.

Bulgaria's property market has also attracted the attention of investors from the UK, Israel and Cyprus. Return on investments in that sector remains high and it is believed that the prices have not reached their climax, the news agency points out.

Official data showed that the average annual return on investments reached 12% to 13%, whereas unofficial figures claim that it is up to 60%.

Within the Money Show conference in Thessaloniki it has been revealed that more and more Greek companies are purchasing land and constructing in Bulgaria. Data presented at the conference has showed that the Greek contracts that are about to be inked by the end of 2005 would reach EUR 1 B."
Source: Sofia News Agency

Financial Times: Developers look east for higher yields

Keywords: Eastern Europe

"The past year has seena flurry of companies raising money on London's stock markets to invest in property in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

This has thrown up a host of new names. They include Equest Balkan Properties, Dawnay Day Carpathian,the Charles Lewis Fund, Orchid Developments, Black Sea Property Fund,Bulgarian Property Developments, European Convergence Property and Raven Russia."
Source: Financial Times

Assetz News: Bulgaria the new Spain?

"A review of search engine entries during the last three months has revealed that Bulgarian property is quickly becoming one of Europe's leading investment interests.

The research by d2rworldwide.com reveals that the recent surge of interest in Bulgarian property is unprecedented in the Eastern European market, although some comparisons have been drawn with Croatia."
Source: Assetz News

Business Week: Rise Of A Powerhouse

Keywords: Eastern Europe

"How the young knowledge workers of Central Europe are pushing the region to a new level."
Source: Business Week

News:
Europe News - Topix.net


Blogs:
The european blogosphere - LoicLeMeur Wiki

Financial Times: Unearthing Bulgaria's Golden Age

Image: Archaeological Museum Plovdiv

Keywords: Thracians

"The most sensational archaeological finds of recent times are currently being made in one of the poorest countries in Europe: Bulgaria. Bulgaria has long argued that Thracian art is both indigenous and distinct, yet compared with classical Greece and Rome, Thrace has largely been overlooked."
Source: Financial Times

See also:
Archaeological Museum Plovdiv - BBT - real estate in Bulgaria

MyFinances.co.uk: Brits triple spending on second homes

"In the last three years the amount of money Britons spend on second homes has tripled, new figures show.

UK residents now spend £6 billion a year on second homes, up from £2 billion in 2002."

"But with the British property market stalling, investors are increasingly looking to more adventurous - not to mention cheaper - markets."
Source: MyFinances.co.uk

Times: Young Irish invest in Bulgaria

"Young people priced out of the market in Ireland are looking abroad to get on the property ladder."

"Low prices are essential for a first-time buyer with no other assets. Morris, who coined the acronym 'young Irish property investor' (Yipi) to describe the trend, explained that affordability is the key. 'The cheapest in Bulgaria is about €30,000; management costs are about €250 per annum, while the stamp duty is about 2%,' he said."
Source: Times

Assetz News: Bulgarian boom set for slopes

Keywords: Sofia

"The property market in Bulgaria has been growing in confidence over recent years and a bumper 12 months in 2005 looks set to continue."

"Many see the future of property investment in the eastern European country as being on the ski slopes as more people from around the world look to the destination for a cheaper skiing experience."

"Another factor helping the Bulgarian property market to witness massive investment is the fact that the capital, Sofia, is a strong candidate to host the 2014 Winter Olympics."
Source: Assetz News

Photos:
Bulgaria - Flickr
Bulgaria Photo Gallery by Nikola Gruev at pbase.com

BONJOUR L'ESTONIE: Estonian company to build a housing estate in Bulgaria

"Estonian construction company Koger&Partnerid announced yesterday it will start developing a 34-hectare private housing estate near capital city Sofia in December. 'Bulgaria with its 8 million people and emerging real estate market offers considerably better opportunities for growth than Estonia today,' said Andres Pärloja, head of the company’s Bulgarian operations."
Source: BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Assetz News: Bulgaria breaks property records with bumper year

Image: Vassko - Flickr

"Bulgaria's growing property market has experienced yet another record breaking year of investment, with around 250,000 homes expected to be sold and finalised by the end of this year.

The figures mark the former Eastern bloc country out as one of the principal growth property markets in Europe. At a time when most countries are seeing the growth of the past few years ebbing away, Bulgaria expects this year to bring a 28 per cent increase on the number of homes sold last year – which had also been a bumper year with 196,000 properties sold."
Source: Assetz News

Bloomberg: Romanian, Croatian, Bulgarian Stocks Lure Investors on EU Hopes

Keywords: Bulgaria

"Thomas Farthofer's Bawag P.S.K. Osteuropa Stock fund returned 40 percent annually the past three years investing in such Eastern European countries as Hungary and Poland. Now, he's shifting money to Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria."

"Investors such as Farthofer say economic growth in Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria is set to outpace former stars such as Hungary and Poland, which joined the European Union in May 2004. The EU, the world's largest trading bloc, is targeting membership for Romania and Bulgaria by 2007 and Croatia by 2009. Joining the EU would boost local economies and stock markets as trade barriers fall and travel restrictions are eased."
Source: Bloomberg

GlobeSt.com: Tishman-Linder Fund Busy In Bulgaria

"Developer Tishman International of Los Angeles and Arnstorf, Germany-based builder Linder AG are very busy these days in Bulgaria, which is set to join the European Union in 2007. In addition to Sofia Airport Center, the $76-million mixed-use project GlobeSt.com wrote about in October, the duo is starting a $70-million residential development, negotiating the acquisition of three additional development parcels and forming a new company to manage the completed projects."
Source: GlobeSt.com

SkyEurope will fly from Budapest to Bulgaria

Image: Sky Europe

"SkyEurope have put 4 new routes on sale for 2006 from Budapest. In mid-April they will launch 2 new Italian routes from Budapest, including Bologna (Guglielmo Marconi) and Naples.

They will also launch 2 new routes to Bulgaria for the summer season, including Bourgas and Varna. This will make SkyEurope the first low-cost airline to fly to Varna."
Source: cheap0