A major deal in Bulgaria’s real estate market happened three weeks before the country’s EU accession.

A residential property next to the Radisson Hotel in the centre of Sofia received a record high amount of 6000 euro a sq km, Unique Estates managing director Vessela Ilieva said. Unique Estates, part of Address Group Capital Holding, sealed the deal. The 300 sq m apartment, an extremely large space for the area, had been renovated and commands a wonderful view and high ceilings. The price of the property totalled 1.92 million euro, one of the highest registered on the market. According the reglamentations of the Structural and Cohesion funds, after EU accession of Bulgaria accepted will be investments in projects for improvement of the living areas of state organisations and non-profit organisations, as well as of private living buildings. The director of  the control and certification of SAPARD programme and structural funds department Karina Karaivanova said that it concerns repair of faзades and common areas, and change of windows in the common living areas.

Meanwhile, it was reported that more than 14 000 UK citizens have bought residential units in Bulgaria in 2006. Close to 35 per cent of  foreign investments in Bulgaria for 2006  were in the real estate sector. Due to the big interest to real estates in the country, the UK ranged second in the foreign investments rating. The real property sector attracted the major portion of foreign investment – 35 per cent, followed by the industrial sector at 20 per cent.

From Plovdiv, it was reported that Minister of Transport Petar Mutafchiev said  on December 12 that the Plovdiv airport concession had been delayed because its ownership is not yet settled. He expected the concession to proceed at the end of March 2007, however.

According to Mutafchiev, the problem concerns the ownership of the building and of the platform, 57 per cent of which belongs to private shareholders, with Plovdiv Airport EAD owning the rest.