TWO
Property developer Winslow Development has said that it would build two more gated residential communities in Sofia, but made no investment estimate, Dnevnik.bg said. The company is already building one residential compound in Sofia, Winslow Gardens. The developer has already secured the relevant design permit for one of the two new projects, in the capital city’s Vitosha residential borough. Construction of the 30 000 sq m property is expected to start before the end of 2008. The other new project, in Sofia’s Bankya district, will be implemented in two phases. It will have a footprint of 12.5ha.

MIXED-USE COMPOUND
Israeli real estate developer BSR Europe and its partner Edmond de Rothschild Real Estates are to build a 200 million euro worth office and residential compound Varna One in Bulgarian city Varna by 2014, SeeNews said. The construction is planned to start in November or December 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2014. Bulgarian-registered company BSR Varna will develop the project.

BalPEx
The Balkan real estate expo BalPEx will be opened in Sofia on October 10-12, Monitor daily said. More than 130 investors and real estate companies from South-eastern Europe are expected for this year’s event.

NOT ENOUGH
There was a deficit of one-bedroom apartments for rent in panel buildings in Sofia, especially in the southern neighbourhoods, Monitor said. Renting prices had risen by 10 to 15 per cent year-on-year.

NO DEAL
Bulgarian Real Estate Fund REIT gave up a deal worth 20.9 million euro, VAT not included. REIT cancelled its preliminary contract to sell the open air parking lot and the office premises that are part of the large-scale Kambanite Business Centre project to Navigator Business Centre Ltd. The deal was cancelled because Navigator Business Centre failed to pay part of the price of the real estate, according to the preliminary contract.

CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
After two quarters of decline, the number of construction permits issued by Bulgarian authorities in the second quarter of 2008 rose by 24 per cent to 4355, data from the National Statistical Institute data showed on August 21. Residential developments continued to account for the largest share of the total, with 2694 permits granted for a total area of 1.65 million sq m, compared to 2267 permits granted for total area of area of 1.58 million sq m in the previous quarter.