Over 29 per cent of the property deals concluded in Bulgaria in 2006 involved foreign participation, executive director of real estate company Asta Bridge Anton Pankev said.

Nearly 66.87 per cent of all foreigners who bought property in Bulgaria came from UK, he said as quoted by Bulgarian National Radio. The British interest was attributed to regular flights between Bulgaria and the UK.

Irish investors concluded nearly 13 per cent of the property deals in 2006. Americans were involved in six per cent of the deals, Germans in four and Italians in three per cent.

Data showed that 39.93 per cent of investors were interested in winter resort property, followed by sea resorts with 31.13 per cent.
The capital of Sofia attracted 8.11 per cent of property buyers, Pankev said.

UK citizens were interested mainly in property investment and their main motivation for purchase in Bulgaria was price.

The largest number of deals involved the purchase one-bedroom apartments in the popular resorts worth from 30 000 to 80 000 euro.

Irish bought one or two-bedroom apartments at the seaside or in the mountains, investing from 50 000 to 100 000 euro.

Bulgarian property market is beginning to attract Spanish and Maltese investors, seeking construction sites at the seaside and the mountains.

The average property value at the seaside in 2006 amounted to 46 900 euro and that of property in winter resorts reached 90 000 euro.

Apartments in Sofia varied between 30 000 and 80 000 euro in price, Pankev said. Property prices in winter resorts are higher because of the year-round usage possibility.

The property market recently experienced increased foreign interest in the development of spa centres like those in Sandanski, Asta Bridge said.