Sofia Echo Media office move

Sofia Echo Media, publisher of The Sofia Echo and sofiaecho.com, will be moving to new offices.

Real estate prices in Bulgaria have dropped to 2007 levels

The most drastic decrease is observed in the prices of residential estates along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Falls are observed in all market sectors nationwide but Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Varna and Bourgas are experiencing sharpest reductions.

Forton International latest: office rents are declining by 30 per cent

Sharp reduction in prices in Sofia and other major urban centres nationwide for office space as the economic crisis encroaches even further on Bulgarian business climate

CB Richard Ellis will increase its investment in Bulgaria

CB Richard Ellis administers expansion in central and eastern Europea with strategic contracts assuring them stronger influence in the real estate markets of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania

Modern real estate building with offices in south-eastern Sofia

Chic real estate complex with offices under construction in Geo Milev, to be completed by the end of 2009.

Varna One mega complex begins construction

Two large residential areas, a business and office centre and an entertainment centre, equipped with its own park, lake, and a play school close to Varna city centre to be ready by July 2011.

Serdika Centre banks on innovative marketing strategy

With a 220 million euro investment, and a radical marketing strategy, Serdika Centre's general manager Atanas Radev aims to change the landscape of shopping malls in the country.

190 building permits granted in January and February alone

A hospital, office blocks, infrastructure projects and small production plants are among the buildings sanctioned.

Warehouse and logistics complex in Sevlievo nears completion

Four million euro logistical, administrative and storage centre on the Sofia - Varna motorway near Sevlievo is nearly complete

Varna municipality will tear down illegal property

The head of public order, Svetomir Nikolov, has been fired as part of a massive action undertaken to stall illegal construction around the Varna Lake

Mall Gabrovo to open doors by June 2009

75 per cent of slots within the mall have already been rented out, as Gabrovo's largest mall is set to open for business.

Defence Ministry's sales bonanza in Plovdiv

Eight properties put up for auction by the Defence Ministry cause friction with Plovdiv University

Construction on Mega Mall Lyulin starts

Construction on Mega Mall Lyulin, at the intersection on Blvd Tsaritsa Ioanna and Blvd Dobrinova Skala, has started. Initial work for the mall will focus on building the infrastructure linking it with the metro station, as the construction company is contemplating a direct link between metro station Zapaden Park and the mall's underground parking lot.

Sofia office vacancy rate could reach 10% by year-end - report

After a calm first half of the year, about 65 000 sq m of class A and B office space hit the market in Sofia in the third quarter of 2008, which could drive the office vacancy rate in the Bulgarian capital, financial news website investor.bg reported on December 12, quoting a survey by consultancy firm MBL. The overall figure of office space now stands at 874 100 sq m, of which 81 per cent is outside the immediate city centre.

Mall Veliko Turnovo seeks buyer for 31.56 million euro

The investment fund European Convergence Property Company PLC (ECPC) continues to search for a buyer for its only remaining asset - Mall Veliko Turnovo - after several offers for a potential transaction were withdrawn "for varying reasons…including the economic crisis," ECPC told the media in an official statement.

70M euro investment for a Spanish tower in Sofia

Sofia's chief architect Petar Dikov told Stroitelstvo.bg that in August 2008 a plan was approved for a glass tower to be built behind the Sofia central train station, at a location commonly knows as the "artery". Spanish company Riofisa has a parcel of land worth 40 million euro, and is contemplating erecting a glass tower with an auxiliary complex around it, creating 2500 new jobs and significantly boosting the local economy in the district.

Ceremony marks the sale of the first shopping mall in Bulgaria

The sale of the first shopping mall in Bulgaria, Sofia City Center, will be officially sealed with a ceremony on December 9 2008, one month after it was first announced.

Property funds post dimmer 9-month earnings

Gloom and glee were equally mixed in the nine-month financial results reported by Bulgarian property funds, with many real estate investment trusts (REITs) worse off at the end of September compared to a year earlier. Intercapital Property Development swung to a profit of 6.5 million leva and pocketed about 24 million leva from selling 13 000 sq m of flats in its St Marina holiday village near the Black Sea town of Sozopol.

Leading architectural studios short-listed for design of Government centre

The Regional Development and Public Works Ministry has short-listed six architectural studios for the design of a Government centre, meant to rise on the area near the sixth km of the Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard in Sofia, Dnevnik daily reported. Out of 19 applicants, the ministry's short-list includes Foster+Partners, a London-based firm led by world-renown architect Norman Foster, who has another project in Bulgaria working with architect Georgii Stanishev, brother to Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.

Bulgarian real estate slumps in value

The Bulgarian real estate market has enjoyed years of gradual growth, with prices constantly being on the upturn providing a healthy climate for the sector. These were the days of predictability and affluence. Not anymore, being on the outskirts of the hurricane of financial trubulence slowly approaching the country from the West, prices have taken on a sharp decline, as offers on the leading property websites in the country show.

New multi-functional building for Evropa Boulevard in Sofia

Mapa International is investing in a facility that will feature office and warehouse spaces on Evropa Boulevard across from supermarket Metro-2. The mixed-purpose building will occupy about 3000 sq m out of a 0.8 ha land plot. In addition, the investor plans to construct a multi-functional centre resembling a traditional mall with a total built-up area of 10 000 sq m, Stroitelstvo gradut reported.

Buy one apartment, get one free

This may sound like a freakish selling technique, and most likely, many developers would find that it really is. Irish investor PJ Doherty recently began to offer his clients a free apartment in Bulgaria, if they would purchase property in his development in Milford, a resort area in the northwest of Ireland, BBC reported.

Two new parks, walking area to appear in Sofia's centre

The new detailed master plan for the western part of Sofia city centre, the area between the Hristo Botev, Alexander Stamboliiski, Maria Luiza boulevards and Pirotska Street envisions the construction of new office buildings, more green spaces, but would also cut into one of the main thoroughfares linking the central part of the city to Lyulin district. The northern carriageway of Knyaz Alexander Doundoukov Boulevard from

Balkan real estate expo in Sofia to feature 300 new projects

From October 10 to 12, the forth edition of the Balkan Real Estate Conference (BalREc) will take place at the Inter Expo and Congress Center in Sofia. The property expo gives opportunity to professionals not only to present their products and services, but to create a network of new business partners and friends, organisers said in a media statement.

To our readers - from The Sofia Echo

For several hours on August 22 2008, our web hosting server was unable to provide access to sofiaecho.com and to propertywisebulgaria.com, and we apologise to readers for the inconvenience. The problem has been addressed and we are confident that service will continue uninterrupted in the future. Our thanks to all those involved in restoring the websites - especially given the sites' ever-growing popularity, and our gratitude to our readers who contacted us to inquire why they could not get to their favourite read.

Property Briefs

Property market in Bulgaria's Danube region static

Fewer property deals have been finalised in the Danube cities of Rousse, Vidin and Silistra since the beginning of the year, according to local real estate agencies, as quoted by website investor.bg. Supply exceeding demand, unfavourable credit terms and overpriced offers are among the factors responsible for the stagnant market, according to agencies.

New hospital in Bourgas to be built for 35M euro

Bourgas city hall has called a public procurement tender for the construction of a modern hospital in the Meden Rudnik borough, Stroitelstvo Gradut weekly reported. This is the most-populated borough of the city with close to 80 000 residents, and, according to the weekly, there is only one clinic, which currently occupies a flat in a communal block, to service their healthcare needs.

Leading developer backs out of Sofia project

Engel East Europe N.V., one of the leading developers of residential and mixed-used properties in Central and Eastern Europe, announced plans to withdraw from a project in the Sofia borough Gorna Banya, website investor.bg reported. The project envisioned a residential complex consisting of 430 flats, in which Engel held a 40 per cent share in a joint venture with Heitman Group, which held 60 per cent

Skyscraper construction builds up passions in Sofia

Representatives of Sofia's Sredets district and the Bulgarian Academy of Science's National Archaeological Institute have declared their disapproval of the possible construction of an 80-m high building on the site of the existing Hotel Rila. Investor.bg quoted Sredets district mayor Margarita Gouteva as saying such for her contingent at a public discussion on plans to construct a new building at the location.