Sofia
The country’s capital, Sofia has around 1.2 million inhabitants but that number is constantly growing as the unemployed from the countryside move here looking for work.
Most of that population lives in the ugly concrete tower blocks that make up Sofia’s outlying districts. New construction is mostly taking place to the south and east of the city centre, in the direction of Vitosha Mountain. Whole new housing districts have sprung up here but, though they may only be 5 or 6 storey, they still have their problems: control over building quality has been and continues to be patchy and as for architectural standards you can see anything and everything here.
There are a lot of properties currently on the market as construction work is going on at a great pace. There are a lot of new houses in the suburbs as well as brand new apartment buildings.
Even so, there are areas that hide more potential than others and areas where demand is fairly stable.
As a general rule of thumb foreigners prefer the following areas, from the centre to the South and East of the city:
APARTMENTS centre; Lozenets; Iztok; Izgrev; Ivan Vazov; Borovo; Buxton.
HOUSES in the villages on the outskirts of the city (beyond the ring road) which have developed immensely in the past ten years and now: Simeonovo (15km); Dragalevtsi (15km); Boyana (12km); Bistritsa (20km); Gorna Banya; Knyazhevo; Bankya (20km); Pancherevo (20km).
There is a belt of NEW CONSTRCTION of houses and small apartment buildings inside the ring road which used to be just waste land but which has recently been turned into housing estates: Pavlovo; Manastirksi Livadi; Krustova Vada; American College/Malinova Dolina
Areas to the industrialized North and North-East are mostly large housing complexes but beyond the ring road to the West and North prices are gradually rising in the small villages.
Other Big Cities
Top scorers in 2004 were Varna and Bourgas, where the prices surged by more than 50 per cent, due to the Black Sea coast location of the two cities.
What was observed in 2004 was only a continuation of a trend, during which over the last two years, the prices of housing in big cities has gone up by 20 to 100 per cent, and of flats in housing and resort areas by 100 to 200 per cent.
Seaside
345 km of coastline, mostly sandy beaches. Everywhere from Bourgas down has undergone major development over the past couple of years and there is now a wide offering of apartment complexes on the sea shore. Developments vary from apartment blocks and hotels to modern luxury complexes with swimming pools, solariums, restaurants and a host of other facilities. Some property experts worry about the lack of clear regulations to ensure development does not affect the environment and ruin the quality of the scenery.
Apartment prices from 500 to 1500 Euro/m2
Other developments are several golf courses to the north of Varna (Kavarna and Balchik), but there is still little construction going on north of Kavarna where the coast is mostly rocky, the landscape totally flat and the season several weeks shorter.
Mountains
Bulgaria is almost ¾ mountain so there’s a lot to choose from! The obvious hit has been Bansko, an existing town which has recently expanded its ski facilities to the size of a small European resort and is now fervently building to provide beds for the needed number of visitors. Prices here for apartments range from 500-1200 euro/m2.
There is little construction in the other two large resorts – Pamporovo and Borovets, though plans are afoot for a ‘Super Borovets’ report, which would engulf the neighbouring villages and town of Samokov. Other resorts with development potential are Panichishte, Ribaritsa, Kom Peak in the North West of the country.
Expats seem to be particularly fond of the area around Veliko Turnovo and the Sredna Gora mountains, with its location 21/2 hours either way to Sofia or to the Black Sea and the lovely old village houses, which can be renovated. Prices here are low too.
Agricultural Land
The biggest question that remains is what is going to happen to the agricultural land. Farmland sells cheap mostly because it is split into small plots making it difficult to buy a large area and because it is impossible to sell such land to foreigners. Owners of agricultural land are beginning to understand that the fragmentation is pushing the price down and more than 85 per cent of them now want consolidation of farm plots.
The results of the concluded first stage of the land consolidation project show that most of the owners of agricultural plots not only want re-allotment, but would like to speed up the process. It is up to the state to undertake the necessary measures for ensuring a legislative framework for re-allocation of agricultural land because the recent situation with many small lots drive the price of land down, and seriously restricts farmers' opportunities to buy or rent plots of sufficient size for efficient agricultural production.
Land plots in Bulgaria are becoming one of the most attractive investment goals for foreigners despite complaints that the small sizes of most properties are an obstacle to their successful sale.
The Sofia Echo can recommend a lawyer to deal with all your residence and property-related needs. Email us on: Christine@sofiaecho.com
