Independent: Bulgaria: Will it be sand, snow or city?

"As emerging property markets go, few can rival the hype or promise of Bulgaria, three areas of which are now being heavily marketed to British buyers."

"A second investment area is the ski region, chiefly the town of Bansko, although Pamporovo and Borovets are also now popular."
Source: Independent

San Francisco Chronicle: BULGARIA: Iron Curtain lifted slowly on country brimming with European allure

Image: Plovdiv Guide

"Roughly the size of Ohio, the country is blessed with an abundance of the things that call us to Europe. During my week there I gazed at haunting medieval frescoes in thousand-year-old churches, sipped surprisingly good wines in sidewalk cafes, poked around well-preserved Roman ruins and passed through rural villages where horse-drawn carts still trundle down cobbled lanes. There was so much to see that I never made it to the sun-baked beaches of Bulgaria's Black Sea coast (which, I understand, have been largely colonized by Brits and Germans on package holidays)."
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Digital Media Europe: Globul to launch 3G service in autumn 2006

Keywords: Globul, Cosmote

"Bulgarian operator Globul has unveiled some of the capabilities of its 3G service, which include video calls and video streaming. Globul is to launch the service by the end of September 2006.

The 3G network is capable of making video calls and video streaming, which includes live TV and video. The exact description and the prices of the operator's 3G services will be announced at their commercial launch in September 2006."
Source: Digital Media Europe

Digital Media Europe: Black Sea resorts to receive 3G, UMTS and HSDPA services

Keywords: Mobiltel, 3G, UMTS, HSDPA, Black Sea

"Mobiltel customers travelling in and around the Black Sea will have access to 3G, UMTS and HSDPA services starting 1 July 2006.

Customers in the Southern Black Sea will have access to Bulgarian telcommunications operator Mobitel's 3G network as of July 1, 2006. Starting 8 July, UMTS and HSDPA network coverage will extend to Varna and the resorts along the Northern Black Sea. Resorts in Burgas and Albena already receive 3G network coverage."
Source: Digital Media Europe

Digital Media Europe: Bulgarian winter resorts to get high-speed internet access, additional fixed phone lines

Keywords: Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC)

"Bulgarian national telco the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) is investing over 2 million leva to renovate fixed-line telephony and install ADSL internet capability in three winter resorts: Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo.

At Bansko, BTC aims to increase the telephone capacity by 30 per cent, which will make it possible to completely digitalize the local phone network. BTC is to increase the telephone capacity in Borovets by over 30 per cent, while increasing the capacity in Pampovo and the neighbouring towns of Shiroka Luka and Stojkite by 100 per cent."
Source: Digital Media Europe

Assetz News: Bulgaria strengthens lead as property hotspot

"Bulgaria has managed to further improve its reputation as a property investment hotspot in the last three months, according to the latest investment Tracker.

The second quarter of 2006 actually saw Bulgaria improving its position considerably, from a 116 per cent return on cash invested in March to 137 per cent in June, according to research from Assetz."
Source: Assetz News

International Herald Tribune: The rise and rise of Bulgarian property

"Anyone who has bought property in Bulgaria will tell you that the prices are so low, it is impossible to lose. Prices will continue to rise. The only uncertainty is by how much. And how long.

The Balkan country already has had 12 years of increases. And the National Statistical Institute reported in January that the average sales price per square meter for residential properties in Bulgarian cities had gone up 36.6 percent in the previous year.

But residential prices in Sofia still average only €600, or $717, per square meter, or $66 per square foot. That is much less than the €750 average per square meter in Bratislava, Slovakia; €850 in Bucharest and €1,500 in Prague, according to the National Real Property Association of Bulgaria.

Those numbers have pushed Bulgaria squarely into the real estate spotlight, attracting West Europeans lured by the current hot place for vacation homes and, to a lesser extent, for investment."
Source: International Herald Tribune

Independent: Bulgaria: Sofia so good

"Robert Nurden sees potential in city flats, ski apartments and seaside resorts."
Source: Independent

Photos:
Bulgaria - Flickr

Telegraph: A little place on the piste

"A ski home for as little as £30,000? Nicola Venning finds bargains in Bulgaria..."

"For a real ski home bargain, it would be hard to beat Bulgaria. Bansko, an intermediate-level ski resort in the south-west Pirin mountains has recently spent ?130million on improving its 65km of pistes (which reach up to 2,560m) including a new cable car, seven chair lifts and six drag lifts."
Source: Telegraph

Times: When the ice melts

BUDGET OPTION: BULGARIA
"Low property prices and inexpensive ski passes (usually under £10 a day) make Bulgaria ideal for a budget ski property. Because of the level of challenge its slopes can offer, it is also most suitable for the occasional skier and for those with little experience. The season lasts from mid-December to late March or even late April, and there are daily flights from Britain; the low-cost airlines have not moved in yet, so fares are comparatively high."
Source: Times

Bloomberg: U.K. Bankers May Spend 3 Billion Pounds on Homes After Bonuses

"Bankers and other employees in London's financial industry are set to spend 3 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) of their 2005 bonuses on buying more than 20,000 new homes in the next few months, according to a report published today."

"Some of the bonuses will be spent on buying real estate overseas in countries such as Bulgaria, Spain, India and China, Nick Clark, chairman of the Homebuyer Show, which takes place in London's Docklands district on March 16-18, said in the statement."
Source: Bloomberg

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