Sofia the capital city, has a population of around 1.5 million. It is the main location for foreign embassies, branches of international companies and the public administration buildings of the country. There is also a new 300,000 square metre business park which has prompted improvements to the ring road and the introduction of 2 new metro stations. It is also expected that Sofia will receive 4.6 billion euro from the EU between 2007 and 2009.

It has been suggested by various sources on the net that prices will rise by 15-20% per year over the next few years until prices reach similar levels in other Eastern European capital cities e.g. Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. It remains to be seen if this is over optimistic or not.

As in any city, prices will be determined by location. The main areas for investment are:

• Boyana
• Simeonovo
• Lozenets
• Ivan Vazov
• Areas around the new business park
• Areas close to the city centre

The ski resorts of Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets

Bansko has been at the center of building activity taking place in the Pirin mountains for the last couple of years. It is one of the main ski resorts in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, in our view, it has become over-developed with a multitude of apartment complexes having been built.

Pamporovo nestles in the heart of the Rhodopi mountains and is the most southerly skiing resort in Europe. It is situated approximately 1650 metres above sea level, and is 240 km from Sofia and 85 km from Plovdiv. There has been a lot less development here in the last couple of years compared to Bansko, mainly due to the nature of it's physical geography. A number of high quality complexes have been built in this area. One of the main drawbacks of Pamporovo is it's poor accessibility, although we believe this will improve considerably over the coming years.

At the time of buying in early 2005, we paid around 900 euros per sq. metre in Pamporovo.

Borovets is the largest mountain resort in Bulgaria. It is located 1350 metres above sea level on the northern side of the Rila Mountains. This is the most accessible of the Bulgarian ski resorts being only 70 km from Sofia and 26 km from Plovdiv.

When buying in any of the ski resorts, it is worth bearing in mind the length of the rental/skiing season (mid December - March dependent on snow) if the intention is to rent out the property through tour operators such as Balkan Holidays. Many agents will suggest that other activities such as hiking, hunting etc. will attract visitors for the summer months, but this is as yet a very undeveloped source of tourist revenue. It certainly isn't something that should be relied upon for income or looked upon as a positive factor when choosing where to buy.

The Black Sea Coast resorts of Sunny Beach, St.Vlas and Balchik

Sunny Beach is the primary Bulgarian resort on the Black Sea Coast. Over the last 3 years there has been massive development of apartment complexes to such an extent that the area is over-saturated. If the intention is to sell on before completion, regardless of what you are told by agents, this will probably be difficult to do. W e specifically avoided this area back in 2005 for this reason.

St.Vlas is 4 km north of Sunny Beach and 9 km from Nessebar and is considered to be fairly exclusive compared to Sunny Beach. It's population is around 3,000. A number of high quality apartment complexes have been established here in the last couple of years. A 304 berth marina is curretly inder construction here by the Dinevi Brothers, due for completion in 2008, however 50 boats and yachts are alreaded moored here. St.Vlas is approximately 120 km from Varna airport and 32 km from Bourgas airport.

At the time of buying in early 2005, we paid around 1250 euros per sq. metre in St.Vlas on the Black Sea coast.

Balchik, 31 km north of Varna, is a relatively large settlement with a population of around 13,500 inhabitants. It has a small harbour which attracts medium sized passenger and commercial vessels. This has been relatively late in the development of apartment complexes having only really attracted the attention of developers in the last 12 months. A number of complexes are being developed here to cater for golf enthusiasts, as a number of golf courses are currently under development. These seem to offer the best value at the moment

When we sourced our property portfolio, the golf scene hadn't begun. We have subsequently bought some land in this area, but this has a built-in exit strategy.

Location of Bulgaria in European context

PRICES

The following chart shows some typical prices of off-plan partment complexes in Bulgaria as of January 2007. Note: Prices are usually stated in euros per sq. metre.

Where applicable, the share of common parts has been added to the internal measurements to arrive at price in euros per square metre.
Prices can vary dramatically for a plethora of reasons, for example:

1. Proximity to beach, golf course or ski slope
2. Geographical area within the country
3. Facilities within the complex, e.g. restaurants, swimming pools, recreational facilities
4. Build quality of complex
5. Internal standard of equipment
6. View

The Sterling (or other currency) / Euro exchange rate needs to be taken into account when buying as even a small fluctuation can make a difference in what you are paying in sterling or other currency terms from your original planned budget. It should also be a consideration when properties are sold but obviously it should be looked at from a different direction to when the property was purchased.

For an interesting incite into the key areas and prices it is worth looking at the article by property consultants Hollingworth and Taylor at the following link:

Hollingworth and Taylor article "Is Bulgaria still a good bet?"

Note: We have no connection with Hollingworth and Taylor.