Sat, May 26 2012
Foreign investors have a 97 per cent share of the total investments in Bulgarian commercial buildings, according to consultant company King Sturge, as quoted by website investor.bg.
In Sofia and some other big cities there are pleanty of examples of completed developments, including numerous retail and office buildings. At the initial stage of those developments, there had been a partial share of Bulgarian investors, which was later sold to foreign players.
This pattern was repeated with Sofia City Centre, which was acquired by the investment fund Equest Balkan Properties for 94 million euro. The Central Mall in Veliko Turnovo was bought out by European Convergence Property Company for 29 million euro.
More than 15 future projects have been announced in Sofia alone and a further 10 in Varna, all of them by foreign investors.
According to a Colliers International' forecast, more than 100 000 sq m of commercial space will be available on the market in 2008, a figure that includes recently announced projects in Stara Zagora and Bourgas. Next year, in Sofia alone the completed retail and office centres will supply another 154 000 sq m to the market.
King Sturge's survey suggests that the tendency of foreign investors to dominate property developments is typical for the countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In Hungary, Romania and Slovakia their share is 100 per cent, the survey says.
Worst is over for Bulgaria's property market after three years of decline, reports by Yavlena and Bulgarian Properties real estate firms claim.
Draft law envisages professional association for real estate agents and a public register of real estate companies to bring order to the business and get rid of rogues and rip-off artists.
Landmark Centre Varna’s financial reports show its largest debt is an investment loan of 6.9 million euro issued by Eurobank EFG Bulgaria in mid-2008 and secured with a mortgage.
Average market prices of homes in Sofia fell by one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010, according to the Raiffeisen Real Estate Index, as quoted by Klasa daily.
Proportionately, the number of transactions in leva increased as people reacted to speculation that the euro would disappear.