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.

Spread over 4000 sq m, the property exposition will feature 300 projects presenting different segments of the construction business. More than 150 exhibitors, among which leading Bulgarian and foreign developers and investors, real estate agencies, financial and credit organisations, will present their latest projects and services to existing and potential customers.

Traditionally, the residential property segment is best presented and most popular among visitors and clients, considering that it represents more than 50 per cent of the projects on offer. Organisers said that the number of large-scale business projects such as office buildings, commercial and logistics centres was rapidly increasing.

Bulgaria Real Estate Market Shows Trends of Becoming Buyers' Market

The current supply of real estate properties in Bulgaria is much higher than the demand while there is a serious segmentation of the real estate market regarding the different types of properties, according to Lachezar Iskrenov, Chair of the National Real Estate Association, who spoke before Darik radio Wednesday.

Iskrenov believes that because of the high supply and the market division, a price increase of 35%, predicted by some other experts would be impossible.

According to the Chair of the National Real Estate Association, the most important current change observed in the real estate marker in the country, is the trend of becoming more and more a buyers' market.

"While we wish that real estate prices in Bulgaria reach the levels in outer countries in Central and Eastern Europe, we often fail to take into account the fact that the properties on those markets are offered fully completed," Iskrenov commented, adding that about 20 to 25 thousand residential properties remain unsold just in Sofia.

"The prices of luxury real estate in the country go up the most. However, we notice the biggest discrepancies between buyers' and sellers' expectations and between supply and demand in the middle segment. It is most difficult to make deals exactly in the middle segment. The price growth would remain permanent in the high segment since the price would stay high and there is going to be a 15% price increase on a yearly basis," Iskrenov further explained.

Real Estate Prices at Bulgarian Seaside Decrease

The price of square meter farm land with the opportunity to change its statute in the Kranevo region is between 100 and 150 euro. In the Kavarna region well-off people can buy property at a price between 20 thousand and 40 thousand levs.

A lot of property and land are becoming desolate because of the decreased interest. 7000 square meters of land with changed statute between Balchik and Kavarna at a price of 3 million euro remains unsold. The biggest interest in seaside resorts in Bulgaria show Russians. The foreigners' enthusiasm for a house in Bulgaria, however, is not as great as before, brokers claim.

As a rule foreigners cannot buy land in Bulgaria until 2014. In fact they are buying a house and in case they have a registered firm here they can also buy the land.

The residential market in some Sofia neighbourhoods is showing signs of slowdown

Until recently, Bulgaria’s real estate market seemed a fairy tale told by a developer-type Hans Christian Andersen. High returns, quick profits, an omnivorous market gulping up projects from scratch. That magic world gave not only vendors, but also buyers a blissful life. They would obtain not only a home but also a rock-solid investment to safeguard them against inflation and jittery financial markets.

Mortgage monthly fees would be lower than the rent they would otherwise have paid for their apartments. At the same time, rising real estate costs generated good profits should the owner opt for sale. National Statistics Institute data shows that the value of homes more than tripled throughout the 2002-2007 period. The hike was most tangible in Sofia, and in individual neighbourhoods rates leapt by 50 per cent last year alone, whereas the average ask price for a sq m surpassed 1000 euro. Banks enriched the fairy tale scenario by helping many a Dancho (as the ad went on) say “yes, yes” to the mortgage contract.

Prices of Bulgaria Real Estate to Grow 15% in 2008

The global real estate company ERA has predicted a 15% increase in the prices of real estate properties in Bulgaria in 2008.

According to ERA, the number of real estate deals in Bulgaria in 2007 grew between 4% and 5% to reach a total of about 325 000. 25% of the deals were made by foreign buyers.

Two-room apartments with an area of about 60 square meters remain the residential property of greatest demand on the Bulgarian market, the ERA research shows.