Investment from real estate deals is expected to reach one billion euro by the end of 2005, according to research by Bulgaria's Elta Consult real estate services . By the middle of August the sale of office, trade and industrial property had accumulated 120 million euro, Elta Consult's managing director Valeri Iliev said. About 25 per cent of all investment in Bulgaria was in the property sphere, Iliev said. Interest is currently highest in the acquisition of office and trade property, but more investors are interested in construction plots, which permit the development of different projects. Among the most active buyers are companies from Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Ireland.
The Serbia and Montenegro managing director of Colliers International, Tony de Graaf said he believed the trade property market remained the most active in the Balkan region. Various companies are planning to start the construction of new malls in Bourgas, Stara Zagora, and Sofia, Dnevnik daily reported.