http://propertywisebulgaria.com/ News and analyses of Bulgarian property market, covers Bulgarian real estate investments, developments, deals and gives useful buy, sell and rent in Bulgaria information. en-us Copyright,2006-2007, Sofia Echo Media Ltd. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/two-new-parks-walking-area-to-appear-in-sofias-centre/id_3078/catid_24 Construction Fri 05 Sep 2008The new detailed master plan for the western part of Sofia city centre, the area between the Hristo Botev, Alexander Stamboliiski, Maria Luiza boulevards and Pirotska Street envisions the construction http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/stoyan-alexandrov-when-the-property-bubble-pops-developers-will-invest-in-politicians/id_3077/catid_28 Finance Fri 05 Sep 2008When the availability of office spaces surpasses the demand, sometime in 201011, some of the investors will try to buy off politicians, banker Stoyan Alexandrov said in an interview for the 24 Chassa daily, answering a question whether the property bubble would soon pop. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-black-sea-airports-to-have-new-terminals-in-2011/id_3076/catid_24 Construction Fri 05 Sep 2008Bulgarian Black Sea airports of Bourgas and Varna will boast new passenger terminals in 2011, the firm that holds the concession on the two airports, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, has said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-mall-tenants-stop-paying-rent-over-poor-management/id_3073/catid_26 Commercial Thu 04 Sep 2008Twenty tenants of Pfohe Mall in the Black Sea city of Varna have stopped paying rent to the Bulgarian mall owner, Luke REIT, over the poor management of the shopping centre, Dnevnik daily reported on September 3 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-iris-to-pour-30-million-euro-in-first-stage-of-business-park-rousse/id_3074/catid_26 Commercial Thu 04 Sep 2008Bulgarian construction firm Iris will put about 30 million euro into the first stage of construction of Business Park Rousse, managerial agent Rostislav Dimitrov said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-housing-prices-again-up-more-than-30-per-cent/id_3075/catid_25 Residential Thu 04 Sep 2008Bulgarian home prices gained more than 30 per cent yearonyear in the second quarter of 2008, placing the country atop the global index of UKbased property consultancy Knight Frank, released on September 2. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/old-buildings-torn-down-near-razlog-more-construction-planned/id_3072/catid_24 Construction Wed 03 Sep 2008The demolition of 130 old, rundown buildings in a former industrial zone of 68.8 ha began near the city of Razlog, Stroitelsvo Gradut weekly has reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/balkan-real-estate-expo-in-sofia-to-feature-300-new-projects/id_3070/catid_26 Commercial Tue 02 Sep 2008From October 10 to 12, the forth edition of the Balkan Real Estate Conference BalREc will take place at the Inter Expo and Congress Center in Sofia. The property expo gives opportunity to professionals not only to present their products and services, but to create http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/old-sofia-bath-will-house-spa-centre-and-history-museum/id_3071/catid_26 Commercial Tue 02 Sep 2008The historic building of the central mineral baths in downtown Sofia has long become one of the citys symbols. Officially closed in 1986, its fate remained undecided, while every municipal administration that came to power deliberated what new purpose to attach to the old building. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/attraction-in-the-middle-of-the-road/id_3069/catid_27 Vacation Mon 01 Sep 2008Soon enough, a mockup medieval castle, somewhat mimicking the style of Las Vegas, will meet and greet travellers in the Veliko Turnovo region. Spread over a land plot of 0.4 ha within the territory of the http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/spanish-developer-to-invest-500m-euro-in-residential-property-near-sofia/id_3068/catid_25 Residential Mon 01 Sep 2008The Bulgarian residential property market still has a potential to grow, Nikolina Nikolova, CEO of the Bulgarian arm of Hercesa International, said during a news conference on September 1 2008 at the Hilton Hotel. Nikolovas statement contradicted the http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-property-market-tamed/id_3067/catid_25 Residential Mon 01 Sep 2008The fact that the force with which the Bulgarian residential property market has been developing is beginning to subside was officially confirmed by real estate company executives during a press conference on September 1. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/local-firm-picked-to-build-grand-mall-varna/id_3066/catid_26 Commercial Thu 28 Aug 2008A consortium led by Varnabased construction firm Comfort was picked to build Grand Mall Varna shopping centre in the city, website investor.bg reported on August 28 2008, quoting developer Orchid Developments Group. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/israels-bsr-europe-to-build-mixed-use-office-residential-complex-in-varna/id_3065/catid_25 Residential Thu 28 Aug 2008Israeli firm BSR Europe will build a mixeduse office and residential complex in the city of Varna on the Black Sea, Dnevnik learned from Anet Events, one of the agencies handling the companys public relations in Bulgaria. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/winslow-development-to-build-two-more-residential-compounds-in-sofia/id_3064/catid_24 Construction Wed 27 Aug 2008Property developer Winslow Development has said that it would build two more gated residential communities in Sofia, but made no investment estimate. The company is already building one residential compound in Sofia, Winslow Gardens. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/unicredit-bulbank-extends-30m-euro-loan-for-vertigo-building/id_3063/catid_24 Construction Tue 26 Aug 2008UniCredit Bulbank, Bulgarias biggest bank by assets, said it would extend a loan of 30 million euro for the construction of the Vertigo Building on Bulgaria Boulevard in Sofia. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/danube-bridge-2-contractor-eyes-project-extension-revision-of-costs/id_3062/catid_24 Construction Mon 25 Aug 2008Spains Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas FCC, hired to build a bridge spanning the Danube at VidinCalafat, has requested an extension to the project deadline and an increase in the implementation costs, a Transport Ministry official has said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/to-our-readers--from-the-sofia-echo/id_3061/catid_26 Commercial Fri 22 Aug 2008For several hours on August 22 2008, our web hosting server was unable to provide access to sofiaecho.com and to propertywisebulgaria.com, and we apologise to readers for the inconvenience.The problem has been addressed and we are confident that service will continue uninterrupted in future. Our thanks to all those involved in restoring the websites especially given the sites evergrowing popularity, and our gratitude to our readers who contacted us to inquire why they could not get to their favourite read. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-permits-number-up-24-in-q2/id_3060/catid_24 Construction Thu 21 Aug 2008After 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. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/arco-invest-secures-loan-refinancing/id_3059/catid_26 Commercial Thu 21 Aug 2008Arco Invest, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Estonian real estate company Arco Vara Group, secured a new 15.5 million euro loan to refinance existing debt contracted for the construction of its mixedtype Boulevard Residence project on Madrid Boulevard in central Sofia. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-farmland-funds-amass-71-000-ha/id_3058/catid_28 Finance Wed 20 Aug 2008Bulgarian real estate investment funds REITs focused on arable land have accumulated 71 000 ha, according to the latest market data, which also showed that the biggest special purpose vehicles were boosting their market share. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/school-closures-a-windfall-for-property-developers/id_3057/catid_26 Commercial Tue 19 Aug 2008Bulgaria will close a record number of schools this year, allowing developers to remodel the buildings into hotels, retirement homes, spa centers or small factories, a Dnevnik investigation has found out. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/reit-advance-terrafund-farmland-stock-at-24-000-ha/id_3056/catid_26 Commercial Mon 18 Aug 2008Advance Terrafund, the Bulgarian real estate investment trust REIT, said its agricultural land totaled 24 300 ha at the end of July, up 500 ha monthonmonth and 5300 ha yearonyear. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/outlook-for-sofia-office-space-market-good--cb-richard-ellis/id_3055/catid_28 Finance Mon 18 Aug 2008Despite the effects of the credit crunch and forecasts for an overall slowdown in economic growth, Bulgarian gross domestic product defied the expectations of economists by recording seven per cent growth in the first quarter of 2008, real estate consultants CB Richard Ellis said in a Sofia office market overview for the first half of 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-property-market-may-recharge-growth-over-short-term/id_3054/catid_25 Residential Thu 14 Aug 2008Bulgarias property market was treading water with holiday homes emerging as the riskiest segment, Bulgarian real estate investment fund REIT managers said on August 13. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-defence-ministry-lists-243-properties-for-sale/id_3053/catid_26 Commercial Thu 14 Aug 2008The Bulgarian Defence Ministry will put 243 properties around the country up for sale in autumn, as it attempts to shed redundant assets, defence minister Nikolai Tsonev said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/cee-investment-activity-slows-down-in-h1--study/id_3052/catid_28 Finance Wed 13 Aug 2008Investment in the Central and Eastern European CEE region in the first half of 2008 decreased to 5.9 billion euro, a 14 per cent decline from the same period in 2007 and 24 per cent down from H2 2007 results, real estate consultants CB Richard Ellis said in an investment market report. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/new-logistics-centre-to-be-built-near-varna/id_3051/catid_24 Construction Mon 11 Aug 2008The construction of a new logistics centre has begun near Slunchevo village, in Aksakovo municipality near Varna, Stroitelstvo Gradut weekly has reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/land-plots-near-sofia-still-increasing-in-value/id_3049/catid_26 Commercial Mon 11 Aug 2008The average price of land plots suitable for construction near Sofia has increased between 10 and 15 per cent since the beginning of 2008, Era Izida Properties has said, quoted by website investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/new-subsidiary-to-manage-bulgarian-telco-btc-real-estate-assets/id_3050/catid_26 Commercial Mon 11 Aug 2008BTC, the dominant Bulgarian fixedline telecom, will seek shareholder approval to transfer 100 real estate properties valued at over 281 million euro to one of its subsidiaries. The general meeting of shareholders is scheduled for September 23. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/property-market-in-bulgarias-danube-region-static/id_3048/catid_25 Residential Fri 08 Aug 2008Fewer property deals have been finalised in the Danube cities of Rousse, Vidin and Silistra since the beginning of the year, according to local real estate agencies, as quoted by website investor.bg. Supply exceeding demand, unfavourable credit terms and overpriced offers are among the factors responsible for the stagnant market, according to agencies. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-labour-ministry-suspends-construction-work-on-14-sites-in-bansko/id_3047/catid_24 Construction Tue 05 Aug 2008After inspecting 14 construction sites in Bansko on July 26, the Labour and Social Policy Ministry suspended work on four of them and ordered various building equipment to cease operating because of safety concerns, Bulgarian News Agency BTA reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/italian-co-ver-industrial-to-build-tishman-and-ges-sofia-airport-centre/id_3046/catid_26 Commercial Thu 31 Jul 2008Italian company CoVer Industrial won the tender for the construction of a business centre near Sofia Airport, Italian news agency Ansa said as quoted by Dnenvik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgaria-average-apr-on-housing-loans-at-10-per-cent/id_3045/catid_25 Residential Tue 29 Jul 2008The Bulgarian central bank reported on July 28 that the APR on new housing loans stood at 9.72 per cent at the end of June, up from 9 per cent in February. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/holiday-resort-to-be-developed-in-ribaritsa-village/id_3044/catid_27 Vacation Mon 28 Jul 2008A new holiday resort Kostina will be built in the mountain village of Ribaritsa, located near Teteven city, Stroitelstvo gradut weekly reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/three-to-four-black-sea-hotels-file-for-bankruptcy-every-week/id_3043/catid_27 Vacation Mon 28 Jul 2008Data gathered by the Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism SAT indicated that three to four hotels on the Black Sea coast were filing for bankruptcy every week. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/mall-developers-flock-to-smaller-bulgarian-cities/id_3042/catid_26 Commercial Mon 28 Jul 2008Seven of the 20 malltype schemes currently under development across the country are located in cities with less than 200 000 residents, Q2 market data of real estate consultants Forton shows. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/leading-developer-backs-out-of-sofia-project/id_3041/catid_25 Residential Mon 28 Jul 2008Engel East Europe N.V., one of the leading developers of residential and mixedused properties in Central and Eastern Europe, announced plans to withdraw from a project in the Sofia borough Gorna Banya, website investor.bg reported.The project envisioned a residential complex consisting of 430 flats, in which Engel held a 40 per cent share in a joint venture with Heitman Group, which held 60 per cent. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/skyscraper-construction-builds-up-passions-in-sofia/id_3040/catid_24 Construction Fri 25 Jul 2008Representatives of Sofias Sredets district and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences National Archaeological Institute have declared their disapproval of the possible construction of an 80m high building on the site of the existing Hotel Rila.Investor.bg quoted Sredets district mayor Margarita Gouteva as saying such for her contingent at a public discussion on plans to construct a new building at the location. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/turkish-businessman-pays-11mln-leva-for-haskovo-business-centre/id_3039/catid_26 Commercial Fri 25 Jul 2008Turkish businessman Fuat Guven will be the new owner of Business Centre 1 in Haskovo, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.Guven was said to pay more than 11 million leva without VAT for the business centre. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/central-europe-becomes-top-logistics-industrial-property-destination--study/id_3038/catid_26 Commercial Thu 24 Jul 2008Three out of Europes top five markets with the best location for industrial or logistics facilities were in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the European Distribution Report 2008 published by real estate consultant Cushman amp;Wakefield C amp;W. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-residential-property-market-is-nearing-its-peak--realtors/id_3037/catid_25 Residential Mon 21 Jul 2008For the months of May and June, supply on the residential property market surpassed the demand by 50 per cent, Katya Tsenova, the executive director of Address real estate agency, told a news conference on July 21.In an attempt to evaluate the current status of the market, there were a number of contradictory statistics made public by various agencies in the past several weeks, Tsenova said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/unicredit-to-launch-real-estate-fund--report/id_3036/catid_28 Finance Mon 21 Jul 2008UniCredit plans to set up a real estate fund, following the example of other major European banking groups, which would use parts of buildings that house the banks branches and other properties, Reuters news agency reported on July 20.The fund would be worth around two billion euro, Reuters said, quoting a report in Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Contacted by Reuters, the group declined to comment. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/residential-property-prices-in-bulgaria-continue-to-rise/id_3033/catid_25 Residential Fri 18 Jul 2008House prices for the second half of the year are expected to jump between eight and 15 per cent, real estate agency Foros forecast, as quoted by website investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/ikea-hypermarket-one-step-closer-to-reality/id_3034/catid_24 Construction Fri 18 Jul 2008Bulgarias long wait for an IKEA of its own is one step closer to fulfilment. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/prices-of-old-residential-constructions-in-plovdiv-double/id_3032/catid_26 Commercial Fri 18 Jul 2008With residential property prices up in Plovdiv, both new and old constructions continue to see demand. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/old-military-barracks-area-to-turn-into-new-government-centre/id_3035/catid_24 Construction Fri 18 Jul 2008A Government centre will be built on the area near the fourth km of the Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard, known as the Poligona quot;the range quot; neighbourhood, the Cabinet decided at its July 17 session. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/realtors-construction-companies-facing-decline-in-profit-margins/id_3031/catid_24 Construction Thu 17 Jul 2008The increased cost of construction materials and the standstill in property prices will push down the profit margins of the Bulgarian construction companies by 68 per cent in 2008, local real estate brokerage Yavlena said.Currently, the profit margin per build is 3035 per cent, considerably higher than the 1020 margin typical for mature markets, the realtors said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/rents-in-sofia--from-steady-high-to-high-up/id_3030/catid_25 Residential Wed 16 Jul 2008In the six month period from the beginning of the year, rental rates for residential property have increased, website investor.bg said, quoting brokers from various agencies. The professionals, however, have not been unanimous in their prognoses of how the situation would change in the second half of the year. Some say that further increase is to be expected, others do not anticipate changes. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/lidl-buys-plot-in-pazardjik-for-supermarket/id_3029/catid_26 Commercial Wed 16 Jul 2008The local unit of German retailer Lidl has won a competition for a 4892 sq m plot of municipal land in Pazardjik, southern Bulgaria. The company plans for the supermarket to have a builtup area of 1500 sq m and 70 parking spaces.Lidl Bulgaria upped its bid on the plot to 1.722 million leva from the initial offer of 1.5 million leva. The company is to build the supermarket in nine months. As part of the deal, Lidl Bulgaria has undertaken to invest 350 000 leva in renovating the sporting venues of the nearby Hebar complex. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/riu-hotels-to-run-pravets-golf-resort-hotel/id_3028/catid_27 Vacation Wed 16 Jul 2008International hotel chain Riu Hotels amp; Resorts will take over at the Pravets Golf amp; Spa resort in Pravets, northwestern Bulgaria, Terra Tour Service, the investor in the project, said.Riu has signed on to run a hotel with more than 200 rooms in the resort for a period of five years. The 70 million leva complex, which has an 18hole golf course, among other facilities, has an area of 100 ha and should open for business by the autumn of 2009. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/ls-property-to-invest-450m-euro-in-bulgaria/id_3027/catid_26 Commercial Wed 16 Jul 2008LS Property, one of the major investors in Bulgaria Mall in Sofia, announced plans to develop a number of projects in Bulgaria for a total of 450 million euro, website investor.bg reported, quoting the companys executive director Miles Summerfield. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/cedar-house-experience-first-hand/id_3026/catid_31 People Tue 15 Jul 2008This may sound like news coming from the world of fairytales, but it is now possible in Bulgaria to have your house built, including shipping and construction time, in a total of six months. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/agricultural-land-most-attractive-property-in-bulgaria-consultancy-firm-says/id_3025/catid_28 Finance Tue 15 Jul 2008Holiday resorts and big Bulgarian cities do not seem such an attractive investment opportunity for foreign property investors any longer. Now, an increasing number of private and institutional investors see more value and profitability in agricultural and development land, consultants at Sash Property Solutions SPS said as quoted by nubricks.com, UK property blog. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/chedi-luxury-hotel-brand-coming-to-bulgarian-golf-resort/id_3024/catid_27 Vacation Tue 15 Jul 2008GHM, the owner and manager of a hotel portfolio of highly regarded properties such as The Datai and The Setai, said it would open a hotel in Bulgaira under its upscale brand Chedi. The local Chedi hotel will be part of the Thracian Cliffs golf resort near Kavarna on the Black Sea, resort manager Josef Halbherr said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/spanish-developer-with-project-in-sofia-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/id_3023/catid_25 Residential Tue 15 Jul 2008MartinsaFadesa SA, the largest Spanish developer with a residential project in Sofia, has sought bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg agency reported as quoted by website investor.bg.With the 10year real estate boom in Spain beginning to die down, more companies fail to secure a loan for refinancing old debts. What makes it harder for developers to pay their debts is the sharp decrease in home sales in addition to rising borrowing costs, the agency said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/benchmark-fund-imoti-reit-secures-265m-euro-in-bank-loans/id_3022/catid_28 Finance Fri 11 Jul 2008Bulgarian real estate investment trust REIT BenchMark Fund Imoti has agreed credit lines worth a total 26.5 million euro with the National Bank of Greece and United Bulgarian Bank, part of the NBG Group. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/real-estate-broker-foros-kicks-off-franchise-program/id_3021/catid_25 Residential Fri 11 Jul 2008Real estate company Foros said it has signed up two franchisees, in Plovdiv and in Stara Zagora. The company is also in talks to set up Foros franchises in another 25 local town, including Blagoevgrad, Silistra, Vidin, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kavarna, Sandanski, Elena and Sliven. The first of the signed contracts are for a period of five years. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/foreign-investments-reign-over-bulgarian-property-developments/id_3020/catid_28 Finance Thu 10 Jul 2008Foreign investors have a 97 per cent share of the total investments in Bulgarian commercial buildings, according to consultant company King Sturge, as quoted by website investor.bg.In Sofia and some other big cities there are pleanty of examples of completed developments, including numerous retail and office buildings. At the initial stage of those developments, there had been a partial share of Bulgarian investors, which was later sold to foreign companies. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/rila-hotel-in-sofia-marked-for-demolition-new-construction/id_3019/catid_24 Construction Thu 10 Jul 2008Construction interests united the church, archaeologists and architects to start protesting against plans for a 22storey building meant to replace Rila hotel in the heart of Sofia.In an interview with private broadcaster bTV on July 10, a representative of the St Nikolai ancient church behind the hotel said that the construction of the hotel in the 1940s caused a partial reduction of the church yard and cracking of one of the church walls. It is feared that new construction could further damage the church. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fairplay-commercial-to-invest-in-new-logistics-park-projects/id_3018/catid_26 Commercial Thu 10 Jul 2008FairPlay Commercial, an office property developer that is part of FairPlay International, said it plans to build distribution warehouses and a 120 000 sq m logistics park. The location of the new property developments was not named.The warehouses would most likely be in smaller cities with shortage of purposebuilt logistics properties, FairPlay Commercial board director Mario Zahariev said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/central-railway-station-in-plovdiv-to-be-renovated/id_3017/catid_24 Construction Tue 08 Jul 2008Plovdivs architectural studio ArkontA won the tender called to pick a design for the renovation of the citys central railway station, mediapool.bg reported.The National Railway Infrastructure Company NRIC has said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily, that the investor selected to do the renovation will also be granted building permission for additional construction in the area as compensation. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/carrefour-to-build-mall-in-stara-zagora/id_3016/catid_26 Commercial Tue 08 Jul 2008Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain, announced plans to build a retailentertainment complex in Stara Zagora, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut said. The total investment will amount to 10 million euro as the property itself will be situated on a land plot of 20 900 sq m. The project features a mall, whose retail space will be 14 575 sq m, as well as hypermarket on a further 6324 sq m.Architect Ilian Iliev of Planning Ltd. has been picked todesign the mall, with Carrefour currently still looking to select a construction company to build it. With the opening of the complex, Carrefour has promised to offer 400 new job positions when the project is completed by 2010 as planned. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/more-delays-for-vidin-calafat-danube-bridge/id_3015/catid_24 Construction Thu 03 Jul 2008The project to build a second bridge over the Danube River between Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania has run into new snags, which may delay its completion, Dnevnik daily reported on July 3.Rather than change the original design, Bulgarias Transport Ministry has decided to carry out a new assessment whether the original design of the bridge will be robust enough to withstand the test of time and elements, the daily said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/xarxa-real-estate-starts-doing-business-in-bulgaria/id_3014/catid_26 Commercial Thu 03 Jul 2008XarXa Real Estate, a Spanish company specialising in property sales and investments, arrived on the Bulgarian scene. Its motto is Lets turn our competitors into our partners, Petar Atanassov, executive director for the Bulgarian branch of the company, said during a news conference July 3.XarXa means fishnet and it has been established in Barcelona, Spain in 1994. It is a part of Gestion Immuebles Compartidos, a world network of 80 companies based in Spain and other European countries. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-banks-go-cold-on-loans-for-overdeveloped-resorts--consultants/id_3013/catid_28 Finance Mon 30 Jun 2008Bulgarian banks have started introducing stricter requirements on applicants seeking loans to buy property in Bulgarias bigger resorts, including Bansko and Slunchev Bryag Sunny Beach, over worries that these locations faced overdevelopment, credit consultants said, as quoted by investor.bg on June 30. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-city-hall-to-ban-construction-in-studentski-grad/id_3012/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Mon 30 Jun 2008Construction in Studentski Grad Students town borough will come to a complete halt in a matter of several weeks, Monitor daily reported, based on Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov and chief architect Petar Dikovs intentions to issue an ordinance to ban further construction of the area. It is quite possible that this will be a temporary solution, and, as of now, it not clear when the ordinance would be implemented or how long it would be in effect, Monitor daily said. A random check in Studentski grad done by the newspaper in March revealed that there were close to 60 projects in the works and just as many planned to begin in the near future. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/greece-to-host-technological-fair-in-september/id_3011/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 26 Jun 2008On September 614, the Greek city of Thessaloniki will host the 72nd international fair, which traditionally gathers exhibitors from all over the world as well as boasts 12 thematic events.This year, the fair will present participants from 26 countries among which are South Africa, Cyprus, Brazil, India, Turkey, Romania, France and Italy, as stated on the events official website. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-mall-market-to-reach-saturation-soon/id_3010/catid_26 Commercial Thu 26 Jun 2008In 2008, entrepreneurs still find commercial and business centres the most appealing projects for investment. But there is a possibility this tendency to change after 2010, when all planned construction is completed, the market in Sofia might become saturated, consultants Arco Real Estate said in a statement. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fdi-in-real-estate-drying-out/id_3009/catid_28 Finance Thu 26 Jun 2008Foreign direct investments into real estate has been losing momentum in the first quarter of 2008, the Bulgarian National Bank BNB said in a report covering the JanuaryMarch period. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofias-vuzrazhdane-park-to-stay-construction-free/id_3008/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 20 Jun 2008Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov said on June 18 that there would not be any building activity in Vuzrazhdane Park while he is city mayor, municipality spokesperson Tsvetanka Krusteva told the Sofia Echo.As previously reported by The Sofia Echo, competing claims over the ownership of a large land plot from Vuzrazhdane Park near Sofia centre have sparked a row on June 6. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-sports-complex-to-undergo-renovation/id_3007/catid_24 Construction Fri 20 Jun 2008Cherveno Zname Red Flag sports complex in Sofia will be renovated into a modern sports centre that would be able to host top international sports events, ConstructionEntrepreneurial Holding EOOD CEH, the contractor picked for the revamp, said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on June 19.CEH was contracted by executive agency Social Activities with the Defence Ministry after winning a public bid to this effect. The ministry owns the land on which the Cherveno Zname complex is located. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fdi-in-real-estate-drying-out/id_3006/catid_28 Finance Fri 20 Jun 2008Foreign direct investments into real estate has been losing momentum in the first quarter of 2008, the Bulgarian National Bank BNB said in a report covering the JanuaryMarch period.Investments worth 333.4 million euro in JanuaryMarch is the lowest quarterly figure reported for the past two years, the BNB report noted. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/residents-of-sofias-mladost-district-protest-against-construction-plans/id_3005/catid_25 Residential Fri 20 Jun 2008The initiative committee of Sofias Mladost districts residents, together with Zelenite political party Bulgarian Greens, will stage a rally on June 23 at 7pm in front of the Mladost district hall to protest against the districts urban plan, which envisions building up areas between blocks of flats and the destruction of green areas in Mladost.The committee has created a website, where they put pictures and descriptions of all places that would be quot;destroyed quot;, and called on fellow residents to Come to clearly express our standpoint and disagreement with this madness http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/plovdiv-residents-spending-more-on-remodelling/id_3004/catid_25 Residential Thu 19 Jun 2008An increase of eight to 10 per cent in loan applications for remodelling and furnishing has been registered in Plovdiv, the local office of real estate consultants Europolis said in a statement.Europolis conclusion is drawn from the data provided by the Plovdiv branches of major banks. The average amount for the renovation of a twobedroom apartment is between eight thousand and 12 000 euro, a threebedroom home will take up to 18 000 euro, while to satisfy their taste for luxury, some clients may request up to 30 000 euro. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/irish-air-lingus-to-fly-dublin-sofia/id_3003/catid_27 Vacation Tue 17 Jun 2008Irish lowcost airliner Aer Lingus announced it would start a new twice weekly service between Dublin and Sofia for its winter 2008 schedule, along with new services to Hamburg, Newcastle,Salzburg and Agadir . In addition, the company will increase the frequency of flights to a number of other European destinations, a company media statement said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/mall-of-varna-opens-to-the-public/id_3002/catid_26 Commercial Sun 15 Jun 2008Mall of Varna, which claims to be biggest shopping centre built in Bulgaria to date, officially opened its doors to the public June 12. The day of its opening also marks the official change of ownership, with British privatelyowned Miller Developments taking over.Intersevice Uzunovi AA, a major Varnabased investor, has invested close to 50 million euro in the project, but agreed to sell the thenincomplete development for 120 million euro. The selling price is the highest paid for a shopping centre in Bulgaria so far. It is also the second most important transaction in the country in regards to real estate value, according to Dnevnik daily. The annual rate of return, estimated by Miller Developments, is up to 7.5 per cent, the daily said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-work-in-albena-to-stop-for-indefinite-time/id_3001/catid_27 Vacation Sun 15 Jun 2008Resort operator Albena AD would stop construction work in the Black Sea resort with the same name in the upcoming several years, Dnevnik daily reported, quoting CEO Krassimir Stanev.The decision, made during a shareholders meeting held on June 14, was provoked by the fact that many of the hotels in the resort needed to be torn down as being outdated and architecturally unattractive, Stanev was quoted as saying. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sparkassen-plans-300m-euro-in-new-investments-in-bulgaria/id_3000/catid_28 Finance Thu 12 Jun 2008Sparkassen Immobilien, the real estate arm of Austrias Erste Bank, plans to invest up to 300 million euro in Bulgaria over the next two to three years, Friedrich Wahernig, member of Sparkassen Immobilien board of directors said on June 11. Its focus in the mediumterm would be office and retail space.Additionally, Sparkassen Immobilien has remained keen on financing real estate projects in the region, Wahernig said. The company plans to divest of real estate investments in Western Europe and invest in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria included. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/300m-euro-gated-community-to-rise-near-varna/id_2999/catid_25 Residential Tue 10 Jun 2008Electra Bulgaria, the Bulgarian arm of Israeli investment company Electra Group, will invest 300 million euro in a residential project near the Black Sea city of Varna, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut said. The company confirmed that it plans to build the biggest yet gated residential community in Bulgaria, called Electra Hills. The land plot it has selected for the purpose is near the Kalimantsi village, 15km northwest of Varna. The company has completed similar projects in Israel and Ukraine. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/new-blagoevgrad-mall-to-cost-36m-euro/id_2998/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Tue 10 Jun 2008Dutchregistered Redstone Holdings, a real estate manager and developer with properties in Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine, announced plans to build a new shopping centre in Blagoevgrad, southwest Bulgaria, the company said.The 36 million euro investment will have a total built area of 48 000 sq m and 20 000 sq m of commercial and retail space, the company said in a statement. The centre is scheduled to open in 2011, and it will house leading international and local brands. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fsc-mulling-changes-to-reit-act/id_2997/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 06 Jun 2008The Financial Supervision Commission FSC has drafted changes to Real Estate Investment Trust REIT Act, which are intended to sift idle REITs from the market, Dnevnik daily reported on June 6.The bill will seek to double the minimum paidin capital to one million leva, as well as oblige REITs to maintain a free float of at least 10 per cent. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/400m-euro-mixed-use-compound-due-to-start-in-sofia/id_2996/catid_24 Construction Fri 06 Jun 2008Spanish and Bulgarian investors announced plans to build a new mixeduse compound in the vicinity of Sofias central railway station, SeeNews corporate wire reported on June 5.The complex, to be named Five Towers of Sofia, is estimated to cost 400 million euro, Krassimir Todorov of Source consultancy told SeeNews. The figure is an update from original plans because prices for construction of office buildings and retail sites has risen since conception of the project. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/albena-resort-operator-to-build-new-gated-community/id_2994/catid_27 Vacation Wed 04 Jun 2008Albena, the operator of the eponymous resort, turned the first sod to Rila Estate, a gated residential community in the Byalata Lagouna White Lagoon resort, the companys spokesperson Yovka Strashilova told Dnevnik daily.Byalata Lagouna, a resort adjoining Balchik, on the northern Black Sea, is known for its mineral thermal springs and curative mud. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/european-trade-center-to-be-ready-in-2010/id_2993/catid_26 Commercial Tue 03 Jun 2008European Trade Center, an office complex whose construction is already underway on Tsarigradsko Chaussee in Sofia, would be completed in 2010 and should bring seven per cent return on investment, investors in the project told reporters on June 2, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.The complex would have a total builtup area of 70 000 sq m, making it one of the largest in Bulgaria and comprising a tenth of modern office space currently available on the market, Colliers International, the consultant of the project, said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgaria-tops-global-house-price-index/id_2992/catid_25 Residential Fri 30 May 2008Price increases in the lodging property sector worldwide slowed down in the first quarter of 2008 to reach 6.1 per cent on an annual basis. But Bulgaria still heads the price hike, according to the Global House Price Index of UKs real estate company Knight Frank.The price increase registered in Bulgaria was 31.5 per cent for the first quarter of 2008, investor.bg said. Bulgaria also occupied first place in the same ranking for the last quarter of 2007 with a 33.7 per cent price increase. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-of-central-life-city-estates-begins/id_2991/catid_24 Construction Wed 28 May 2008On May 28, Nike Investment Group turned the first sod of their project Central Life City Estates in Sofias Tsar Simeon street. The development will have 27 residential and four retail units on total builtup space of 4000 sq m. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/mall-stara-zagora-to-cost-72m-euro-open-doors-in-2010/id_2990/catid_26 Commercial Tue 27 May 2008Real Estate Services Bulgaria, developer of retail complexes Mall of Sofia, Mall Plovdiv and Mall Rousse, announced plans to build a fourth retailentertainment complex in Stara Zagora, RESB said in a statement.RESB will be partnering with Gradus1 OOD, active in food production and a leading company on the Bulgarian poultry market. The 72 million euro project was showcased on May 27 in Stara Zagora to city officials, among them mayor of the town Svetlin Tanchev http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/simeonovo-river-park-to-cost-100m-euro/id_2989/catid_25 Residential Tue 27 May 2008Sofias future Simeonovo River Park residential development will cost about 100 million euro to build, Ivo Koloushev, director of Bulgarian developer Litos, told SeeNews newswire.The company controls a 50 per cent stake in the project and the remainder is in the hands of an unnamed foreign investor. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/rental-prices-highest-in-varna-local-daily-says/id_2988/catid_25 Residential Mon 26 May 2008Rental prices in the city of Varna on the Black Sea were the highest in the country, local Narodno Delo daily said on May 26 2008.According to the paper, luxury apartments registered the highest increase, 22.1 per cent, compared to May 2007. Rents of unfurnished housing went up by 19 per cent, while furnished ones increased by 17 per cent. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/romanias-standard-property-prices-ratio-better-than-bulgarias/id_2987/catid_25 Residential Mon 26 May 2008Living standards in Romania were developing in greater harmony with the countrys property prices than in Bulgaria, Teodora Dimitrova, executive director of ERA Balkan Estate said at a news conference on May 26 2008. ERA is the first franchising network in Europe for property sale, Focus news agency said.On May 26, ERA announced its entering the Romanian real state market. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-court-legalises-disputed-hotel/id_2986/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 23 May 2008The administrative court in Sofia overruled on May 22 a decision by the National Construction Control Directorate NCCD that had ordered Hotel Dunes in Slanchev Bryag to be torn down. Hotel Dunes is owned by the VAI holding of former businessman and the owner of the LokomotivPlovdiv football club, Georgi Iliev, who was murdered in 2005. The hotel is built over the former site of restaurant Dune, Dnevnik daily said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/hungarys-scd-holding-to-expand-to-bulgaria-romania-croatia/id_2985/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 22 May 2008Hungarian property developer SCD Holding unveiled plans to expand to Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, Hungarian newspaper Napi Gazdasag reported on May 21, as quoted by bbj.hu.In Bulgaria, in particular, it would hone its attention to office and commercial property, the newspaper quoted SCD spokesperson Peter Elkan as saying. In Romania it will focus on residential property and in Croatia on tourism. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/q1-2007-construction-permits-number-down/id_2984/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Thu 22 May 2008Bulgarian authorities have issued 3505 construction permits in the first quarter of 2008, a decrease of nearly 25 per cent over the previous three months, data from the National Statistical Institute data showed on May 21. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/mall-varna-opens-doors-on-june-12/id_2983/catid_26 Commercial Wed 21 May 2008Mall Varna, the second mall in the Black Sea city of Varna, will open its doors to customers on June 12 with a fourday grand opening programme, the shopping centre said in a media statement on its website on May 21.It will allow 100 people, picked through a lottery on its website, a sneak preview two days earlier. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/unicredit-maps-out-real-estate-sector-growth-trends/id_2982/catid_28 Finance Mon 19 May 2008Fast wealth accumulation and the aspiration toward higher living standards will shape demand on the real estate market in Bulgaria, Kristofor Pavlov, chief economist at UniCredit Bulbank, told the Annual Summit of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Kiev, Ukraine. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/penny-market-unveils-plans-to-build-hypermarket-in-shoumen/id_2981/catid_26 Commercial Mon 19 May 2008German discount store chain Penny Market announced plans to build a fivemillioneuro hypermarket in the town of Shoumen, company representative Miroslav Boulva told municipal councillors, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.The company plans to buy 4000 sq m in the area of the former commercialindustrial zone in Shoumen, of which 1000 sq m will be used for the building itself and the remainder for the construction of 250 parking places. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/lewis-charles-sofia-property-fund-sells-103-share-in-bulgarian-project/id_2980/catid_28 Finance Sat 17 May 2008Lewis Charles Sofia Property Fund announced it would receive 1.89 million euro in gross proceeds from the sale of part of its project in Sofia, Thomson Financial said. Lewis Charles sold 10.3 per cent of the total build area of its project to an unnamed insurance fund, based in Athens, according to investor.bg.Gross revenue from this disposal, the first made by the fund, would be 10.49 million euro, including development costs and profit share, Thomson Financial quoted the company as saying. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/abb-to-build-20m-plant-in-plovdiv/id_2979/catid_26 Commercial Fri 16 May 2008Swiss concern ABB gave the goahead to a project to build a 20 million 12.92 million euro plant near Bulgarias second largest city Plovdiv, the concern said in a May 15 statement.The plant will become an internal supplier for ABB, which will manufacture automated components in other factories of the concern. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/equest-divests-of-former-serdika-hotel/id_2978/catid_26 Commercial Fri 16 May 2008Days after real estate investment trust Equest Balkan Properties announced that it would sell some of its assets in Bulgaria and other neighbouring countries, it announced that it had sold the former Hotel Serdika to Uniqa Real Estate, the real estate subsidiary of Austrian insurer Uniqa, Dnevnik daily reported on May 15.Equest managing partner Georgi Kroumov confirmed the news but declined to specify the value of the transaction until the deal was finalised. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/us-travel-writer-picks-bulgaria-as-top-budget-destination/id_2977/catid_27 Vacation Wed 14 May 2008Bulgaria was among the top 10 budget destinations for summer vacations in 2008, according to US travel writer Pauline Frommer.Frommers recommendations range quot;from romantic getaway spots to family faves to exotic destinations for adventurous travelers quot;, she said in a media statement. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/morgan-stanley-looks-into-bulgarian-infrastructure-projects/id_2976/catid_28 Finance Tue 13 May 2008The infrastructure unit of international financial group Morgan Stanley is screening opportunities for investment in infrastructure projects in Bulgaria, company sources told Investor.bg on May 12. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-seaside-in-for-long-summer---the-telegraph/id_2975/catid_27 Vacation Sat 10 May 2008Poor infrastructure, polluted beaches, low standards of construction, noisy building sites, poor service and bankruptcies will put Bulgarias Black Sea resorts under pressure this summer, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on May 9. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/first-bulgarian-hotel-chain-planning-expansion/id_2974/catid_27 Vacation Fri 09 May 2008Bulgarias first hotel chain Grifid Hotels has announced plans to add at least two other hotels to its existing two, owner Grigor Fidanov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on May 9.Currently, the chain comprises Arabela and Bolero fourstar hotels with combined capacity of 1190 beds. Both are in the Golden Sands resort, on Bulgarias northern Black Sea coastline. The company has been in talks to purchase another hotel in the vicinity to create a hotel complex. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/defence-ministry-official-sacked-over-real-estate-deals/id_2973/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 09 May 2008Petar Pandourski was dismissed from his post as head of Defence Ministrys state property executive agency, the ministrys press service said on May 8 2008.The reason why Defence Minister Nikolai Tsonev had decided to sack Pandourski was because he did not carry out Tsonevs order to halt deals involving swapping real estate owned by the ministry, the statement read. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/greek-property-invasion/id_2972/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 07 May 2008Over the past two years, Greece has staged a real onslaught onto the Bulgarian and other Balkan markets, Greek business newspaper Imerisia reported on May 7.Greek construction companies, mainly from the northern part of the country, have been building large residential, office and retail developments in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and, recently, Macedonia. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/serbias-delta-maxi-to-open-10-stores-in-bulgaria/id_2971/catid_26 Commercial Wed 07 May 2008By the end of the year Serbian Delta Maxi plans to open 10 new supermarkets in Bulgaria, as part of its regional expansion campaign, Serbian broadcaster B92 reported.Delta Maxi bought a majority stake in Bulgarian retail chain Piccadilly last year, at which point its CEO Dragan Filipovic said the company would invest 70 million euro in Bulgaria over the next two years. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/immoeast-buys-stake-in-cherno-more-park/id_2970/catid_26 Commercial Wed 07 May 2008Austrian investment fund Immoeast acquired a 50 per cent stake in Cherno More Park from Germanys ECE Projectmanagement, the German company announced. Once completed, the 150 million euro development will be the largest retail centre in Varna. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/africa-israel-investments-invests-59m-euro-in-business-park-varna/id_2969/catid_24 Construction Tue 06 May 2008Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, will finance Business Park Varna in Varna, on the Bulgarian northern coastline, Reuters news agency reported.Its subsidiary, AFI Europe, and Investcredit bank AG signed an agreement to this effect. AFI Europe will provide 59 million euro of the funds. The cost of the building and the three existing buildings was worth 76.5 million euro. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/property-market-crisis-leaves-650-000-new-lodgings-deserted-in-spain/id_2968/catid_25 Residential Mon 05 May 2008As a result of the real estate crisis in Spain, nearly one third of the 1.8 million lodgings build since 2005 cannot be sold, Spanish daily El Pas said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/first-build-green-cee-conference-pools-200-participants/id_2966/catid_24 Construction Fri 02 May 2008The Build Green CEE conference, the first ever promoting business and economic opportunities through sustainable construction, pooled 200odd participants in Bucharest, Romania, conference organiser SOPOLEC said in a statement.Among attendants were realtors, architects, developers, technology suppliers, public officials and media representatives. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/akb-fores-earmarks-150m-euro-for-investment-in-2008/id_2967/catid_24 Construction Fri 02 May 2008Bulgarias financial holding AKB Fores will almost quadruple its investments this year to 150 million euro, the owner of the holding Nikolai Banev said at a news conference, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. Investment outlays last year stood at 40 million euro.The figure for 2008 does not include the investment into a hazardous chemical cargo terminal at the port of Varna, Banev said. The 100 million euro project, which AKB Fores hopes to implement with strategic partners, will be built in a year and a half. Hopes are that it will emerge into the main facility regionwide and deny the competition of its counterpart in Constanta, Romania, he added. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/city-center-sofia-for-sale/id_2965/catid_26 Commercial Thu 01 May 2008Investment fund Equest Balkan Properties plc EBP was considering the sale of the first shopping mall in Bulgaria, City Center Sofia, Investor.bg quoted Naomi Kora, relations manager for the funds investors, on May 1 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/foreign-investors-reselling-early-development-flats-in-romania-at-significant-profits---romanian-media/id_2964/catid_24 Construction Wed 30 Apr 2008Romanian daily Ziarul Financiar reported that several foreign investors in Romania who had bought apartments in early stages of development, were putting those apartments up for sale at a significant profit even before construction had finished. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-prosecution-to-move-into-interior-ministrys-museum/id_2963/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Wed 30 Apr 2008The building that currently houses the interior ministrys museum and which is state property, will be transferred to the justice ministry for use by the prosecution, Bulgarian parliament decided on April 30. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-delays-did-not-undermine-romanias-market-for-office-furniture/id_2962/catid_24 Construction Wed 30 Apr 2008Last year was still a good one for office furniture in Romania despite delays in delivering scheduled construction projects, local daily Ziarul Financiar reported. The total market for office furniture in Romania exceeded 80 million euro last year. According to Ziarul Financiar, an increase of 15 per cent was expected this year but the market had the potential to reach 100 million euro by 2011. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/house-price-increase-in-bulgaria-highest-for-europe-second-world-wide/id_2961/catid_25 Residential Tue 29 Apr 2008According to data published by Globalpropertyguide.com, house price increases in Europe over the past year ending in Q4 of 2007, were highest in Bulgaria. Bulgarian houses increased by 34.61 per cent, closely followed by Poland with a 33 per cent increase.House prices in Estonia increased by 23.38 per cent. Prices in Sweden, Lithuania, Cyprus and Estonia increased by between 11 and 19 per cent. Increases in other European countries were in the single digit range, with Portugal, Latvia and Ireland reporting house price decreases. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/firms-compete-for-ministerial-buildings-repairs/id_2960/catid_12 Daily News Mon 28 Apr 2008Three candidates are vying to execute repair works on ministerial buildings, Investor.bg reported on April 25. The candidates have applied for participation under the Ministry of State Administration and Administrative Reforms MSAAR public order Repairs, constructions and installations works in buildings, holiday and recreational bases, developments and farms in Bulgaria. The firms are as follows Elitstroy 2005 EOOD, EKSA AD and the consortium BKKTerakom, MSAAR said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/kayi-to-build-serdika-centre/id_2959/catid_24 Construction Fri 25 Apr 2008Turkish developer Kayi was named as the main contractor of Serdika Centre commercial and business complex, Investor.bg reported. The site cited a news release from Sparkassen Immobilien AG, the real estate investment trust of Erste Bank, and the German investor and developer ECE Projekmanagement Bulgaria, the two investors in the project. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-on-bulgarias-tallest-building-to-begin-soon/id_2958/catid_24 Construction Fri 25 Apr 2008ECE Projectmanagement Bulgaria, the Bulgarian arm of German developer ECE, will shortly launch construction on its 40storey Europe Tower, company manager Plamen Ilchev told Mediapool.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgaria-the-third-most-attractive-fdi-destination-in-see--e-y/id_2957/catid_28 Finance Fri 25 Apr 2008Bulgaria is the third mostattractive destination for foreign investments in Southeastern Europe after Turkey and Romania, according to the Southeast Europe Attractiveness Survey 2008, compiled by the independent market researcher CSA at the request of Ernst amp; Young and released on April 24. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/res-still-to-go-in-mass-use-in-building-projects---build-green-cee/id_2956/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 24 Apr 2008Use of unconventional energy resources in Romania in new buildings or in renovating new ones is still a pioneering activity, hence a correct design that can be replicated across other buildings is yet to be found, said architect Gabriela Tabacu, a professor at University of Architecture and Urbanism Ion Mincu, at Build Green CEE. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/government-gets-involved-in-the-green-building-concept---build-green-cee/id_2955/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 24 Apr 2008The Romanian government has only just started to involve itself in the green building concept but the new attitudes are gaining momentum. A host of Romanian public administration officials took the floor during the second and closing day of the Build Green CEE conference in Bucharest, Romania. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/zero-emissions-not-a-myth---build-green-cee/id_2954/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 24 Apr 2008In June this year the world will witness the first zero emissions building ever, Gamze Celikyilmaz from the Regional Environmental Center REC, told participants of Building Green CEE conference. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/building-green-is-costly-but-is-the-future---building-green-cee/id_2953/catid_24 Construction Wed 23 Apr 2008With some exceptions, design, construction and operation of energy efficient buildings is a costly undertaking. Yet it will drive market transformation and become the norm in the future. This was the message of the second panel of the Build Green CEE conference in Bucharest. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/build-green-cee-conference-opens/id_2952/catid_24 Construction Wed 23 Apr 2008Buildings account for 37 per cent of overall energy consumption. In fact, buildings and transport collectively emit 50 per cent of overall green emissions, participants in the Building Green CEE Energy Efficient and Ecological Design for the Region conference concluded at the opening panel on April 23. The twoday conference, ending on April 24, is taking place in Bucharest, Romania. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/winslow-gardens-turned-first-sod-on-april-23/id_2951/catid_25 Residential Wed 23 Apr 2008The first sod was turned on the Winslow Gardens residential project in Sofias Manastirski Livadi borough, investor.bg reported.With this, developer investment firm Winslow Developments, starts work on the first stage of the gated community, which will cost 105 million leva and is scheduled for completion in mid2010. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/poligraphic-services-buildings-in-sofia-to-become-class-a-offices/id_2950/catid_26 Commercial Wed 23 Apr 2008Bulgarian Land Development BLD fund, registered at the London stock exchange, announced the purchase of five buildings from Dimitar Blagoev Printing House in Sofia. The buyer, a joint venture between BLD and private investor Norhtridge Capital, acquired a gross actual area of 29 000 sq m, Investor.bg said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-behind-russian-church-in-sofia-called-off/id_2949/catid_24 Construction Tue 22 Apr 2008The proposal for construction of a building immediately behind the Russian Church in the centre of Sofia was withdrawn on April 22 by the same person who entered the proposal, Sofias chief architect Petar Dikov.Dikov said he annulled the proposal because he had not seen the drawing for the project, Bulgarian daily Dnevnik said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/ing-red-to-develop-mixed-type-real-estate-project-in-bucharest/id_2948/catid_24 Construction Tue 22 Apr 2008ING Real Estate Development ING RED, the real estate branch of the ING group, was planning to start a largescale real estate project in the centre of Bucharest, Investor.bg said. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/balchik-wants-to-buy-back-land-containing-ancient-temple-of-kibela/id_2947/catid_27 Vacation Tue 22 Apr 2008The Balchik municipality has expressed interest in buying back the plot of land on which the remains of the ancient temple of Kibela the ancient goddess Cybele had been discovered. A buyback however, would take a significant chunk out of the municipal budget, Bulgarian news agency BTA quoted Balchik mayor Nikolai Angelov as saying. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/office-industrial-areas-drive-real-estate-market-up---balpex/id_2946/catid_26 Commercial Mon 21 Apr 2008At last years edition of Balkan property exhibition BalPEx, vacation real estate in resorts were everyones darlings, but this year it looks like malls, office buildings and industrial parks will be the main drivers of growth on the real estate market, Dnevnik daily reported on April 21.The vacation segment of the market is oversaturated, causing investors to look elsewhere, according to the daily. As a consequence, a large number of projects presented at this years edition of BalPEx, which ended on April 20, were for commercial and industrial real estate. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/parkridge-ready-to-build-30m-euro-veliko-turnovo-mall/id_2945/catid_26 Commercial Mon 21 Apr 2008Commercial property developer Parkridge wants to build the second mall in the town of Veliko Turnovo and has already held talks with mayor Roumen Rashev on the issue, Dnevnik daily reported on April 21.Parkridge is ready to invest 30 million leva in a multipurpose commercial project, which would spread on a plot of around 1.5ha, Rashev said, as quoted by Dnevnik. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/spring-edition-of-balpex-opens-doors-in-sofia/id_2944/catid_24 Construction Fri 18 Apr 2008Balkan real estate expo BalPEx, one of the largest of its kind in SouthEastern Europe, opened its doors on April 18. For three days, the event will showcase more than 150 urban and vacation developments, office, commercial and industrial space worth in excess of two billion euro. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/evromarket-to-invest-160m-euro-in-eight-industrial-commercial-parks/id_2943/catid_24 Construction Fri 18 Apr 2008Evromarket Group plans to invest 160 million euro in eight industrialcommercial parks that would be built over the next two years, Dnevnik daily reported on April 18 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/build-green-conference-in-bucharest-on-april-23-24/id_2942/catid_30 South East Europe Fri 18 Apr 2008Romanian capital Bucharest will host the Build Green CEE Energy Efficient and Ecological Design for the Region conference on April 2324. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/high-prices-and-high-expectations/id_2941/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Wed 16 Apr 2008The high prices of land mixed with high expectations of local entrepreneurs were the main problems of Bulgarias residential property market. Pablo RodrguezLosada general manager of Spanish developer MartinsaFadesa said on April 16 2008 as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/strategy-needed-or-else/id_2940/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Wed 16 Apr 2008Bulgaria needed a strategy for attracting foreign investments in other sectors besides real estates in order to have sustainable development, Rosen Plevanliev general manager of Lindner Bulgaria told participants at the second regional conference Balkan Real Estate Conference BalREc on April 16 2008 as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-city-hall-to-woo-high-tech-firms-chief-architect-says/id_2939/catid_24 Construction Tue 15 Apr 2008Sofia city hall plans to woo hightech companies by offering a number of incentives, including real estate, the citys chief architect Petar Dikov said at the Balkan Real Estate conference BalREc in Sofia on April 15. quot;We already have several initiatives in mind on how to draw companies using advanced technologies to the city, which include issuing construction permits, quot; Dikov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/doverie-brico-announces-expansion-in-serbia-macedonia/id_2938/catid_30 South East Europe Tue 15 Apr 2008Bulgarian company Doverie Brico, which holds the rights of the French Do It Yourself DIY retailer Mr. Bricolage for Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia, announced plans to expand open new shops Serbia and Montenegro in 2009, Namnews said on April 15. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/shopping-malls-in-danger/id_2937/catid_26 Commercial Tue 15 Apr 2008The shopping malls market segment could face a crisis in 2010, Emanuil Santev, head of real estate department at Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing told participants at the second regional conference Balkan Real Estate Conference BalREc on April 15 2008, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/developments-worth-2b-leva-to-be-presented-at-balpex/id_2935/catid_24 Construction Mon 14 Apr 2008Real estate developments worth a combined two billion leva will be presented at this years spring edition of Balkan Property Exhibition BalPEx, which will be held on April 1820 at Inter Expo Centre in Sofia, event organisers said on April 14 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgaria-extends-deadline-for-rousse-airport-concession-bids/id_2934/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Mon 14 Apr 2008Bulgarias Transport Ministry extended the deadline for bids in the tender to pick a concessionaire for the Rousse airport to May 7, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut reported on April 14.Bids would be opened no later than May 21, according to Bulgarias regulations on public tenders. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/beach-concessions-uncertainty-clouds-start-of-tourist-season/id_2933/catid_27 Vacation Mon 14 Apr 2008The new summer tourist season in Bulgaria might start with most of the beaches in its Black Sea resorts without managers, because it was unclear who would be authorised to call the concession tenders and under what conditions, Dnevnik daily reported on April 14 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgaria-opens-summer-tourist-season-on-may-9/id_2932/catid_27 Vacation Mon 14 Apr 2008The summer tourist season would be officially opened on May 9, State Agency for Tourism head Anelia Kroushkova said on April 14. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fairplay-properties-buys-land-plot-for-57m-euro/id_2931/catid_24 Construction Mon 14 Apr 2008FairPlay Properties real estate investment trust REIT, part of FairPlay International Jsc, has sealed the deal to buy a 8700 sq m land plot in Sofias Studentski Grad neighbourhood for 5.7 million euro, valueadded tax excluded, Dnevnik daily reported on April 14. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sandanski-mall-to-open-this-month/id_2930/catid_26 Commercial Thu 10 Apr 2008Sandanski Mall, the first multiuse shopping and entertainment centre in the town, will open in April 2008, developers Sandanski Property said on April 10, as quoted by investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-hotel-makes-it-to-forbes-getaways-list/id_2929/catid_27 Vacation Wed 09 Apr 2008A Bulgarian hotel has earned the recommendation of Forbes, the US business magazine addressing affluent readers. In its section on Eastern Europes extravagant getaways, the magazine features Yastrebets Wellness amp; Spa hotel in Borovets winter resort. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/commercial-property-deals-top-878m-euro-in-2007-cb-richard-ellis/id_2927/catid_26 Commercial Wed 09 Apr 2008The value of major deals struck on the Bulgarian commercial property segment rose 35 per cent on the year to 878 million euro, a report released by CB Richard Ellis on April 9 showed. The international property consultancy said that the figure was only an approximation because of the lack of transparency on the market. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/kozloduy-nuclear-power-plant-to-build-villa-community/id_2928/catid_27 Vacation Wed 09 Apr 2008Kozloduy nuclear power plant will build a villa community in the Black Sea village of Kranevo, Dnevnik daily reported on April 9. The company already called a public procurement to design and build the community. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/haskovo-mall-to-cost-22m-euro/id_2926/catid_26 Commercial Tue 08 Apr 2008Bulgarian firm Marsa plans to invest 22 million euro on Haskovo Mall, the first shopping centre of its kind in the southern Bulgarian town, investor.bg reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/five-funds-eye-unfinished-hospitals-in-sofia/id_2925/catid_24 Construction Tue 08 Apr 2008Five funds have shown interest in acquiring three unfinished buildings in the immediate neighbourhood of the St. Ekaterina and Alexandrovska hospitals in Sofia, Health Care Minister Radoslav Gaidarski said on April 8, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/orchid-developments-to-pour-50m-euro-in-varna-residential-project/id_2924/catid_25 Residential Tue 08 Apr 2008Orchid Developments, a real estate developer operating in Bulgaria, will invest a total 50 million euro to build its Orchid Gardens Varna mixeduse project, investor.bg reported on April 8. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/gtc-to-invest-40m-euro-in-croatian-mall/id_2923/catid_30 South East Europe Tue 08 Apr 2008Real estate developer Globe Trade Centre GTC will invest 40 million euro in a new shopping centre in the town of Osijek in Croatia, consultant and leasing agent for the project Colliers International Croatia said on April 7. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/former-aig-chief-executive-letterstone-to-launch-1b-euro-european-property-venture/id_2921/catid_26 Commercial Tue 08 Apr 2008Starr International, the company owned by former chief executive of American Insurance Group AIG Hank Greenberg, and Londonbased fund manager Letterstone Group would launch a one billion euro Eastern European property fund, the Financial Times reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/winslow-developments-secures-72m-leva-loan-for-residential-project/id_2922/catid_25 Residential Tue 08 Apr 2008Investment firm Winslow Developments has secured a loan of 72 million leva from Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria to fund the construction of the first stage of its Winslow Gardens residential project in Sofias Manastirski Livadi borough, investor.bg reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/varna-municipality-allocates-175ha-for-container-terminal/id_2920/catid_24 Construction Mon 07 Apr 2008Varna municipality has earmarked 17.5ha for a new container terminal, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut reported on April 7. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-city-hall-calls-tender-to-extend-underground/id_2919/catid_24 Construction Mon 07 Apr 2008Sofia city hallowened metro operator Metropoliten called a new tender for the construction of a new section of the metro network, Dnevnik daily reported on April 7. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fcc-plans-to-build-a-temporary-port-off-vidin/id_2918/catid_24 Construction Mon 07 Apr 2008Spanish developer FCC plans to build a temporary port off the town of Vidin, Dnevnik daily reported on April 7. FCC has already filed a request for a building permit and has the support of Vidin regional governor Krustio Spassov. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/another-referendum-on-controversial-oil-pipeline-fails/id_2917/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Mon 07 Apr 2008A referendum in Sozopol municipality on the construction of BourgasAlexandroupolis oil pipeline was announced invalid on April 6 as turnout was below the necessary minimum of 50 per cent. Slightly more than 30 per cent of the 12 000 residents of the municipality voted, Bulgarian language daily Dnevnik reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/loan-consultant-says-time-to-re-finance-mortgage-loans-is-now/id_2916/catid_25 Residential Mon 07 Apr 2008Interest rates on mortgage loans rose for the third time since 2005 in March. More than 70 per cent of mortgage borrowers will have to pay higher instalments in April, Tihomir Toshev, executive director of Credit Center, an independent loan consultant, said at a news conference on April 7. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/personal-data-exposure-not-needed-free-for-parking/id_2915/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Mon 07 Apr 2008People living in the centre of Sofia have been forced to leave their personal data exposed in their windscreen if they wanted to park for free in front of their homes in blue zones, or areas where parking is paid. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/merrill-lynch-wants-more-time-to-find-investor-for-kremikovtzi/id_2914/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 04 Apr 2008US investment bank Merrill Lynch, hired to advise the sale of Kremikovtzi steel mill in Bulgaria, has asked several extra weeks before choosing the best candidate, the press service of theEconomy and Energy Ministry said on April 4. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/black-sea-investment-reit-rights-issue-to-trade-april-14-24/id_2913/catid_28 Finance Fri 04 Apr 2008Black Sea Investment real estate investment trust REIT issue rights will trade on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange BSE starting from April 14 until April 24, the REIT said in a filing to BSE on April 4. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-mayor-demands-more-money-to-solve-city-issues/id_2912/catid_24 Construction Fri 04 Apr 2008Municipal police and a budget several times bigger than what it has now was what Sofia municipality needed to improve its traffic problems and finance general development, mayor Boiko Borissov told a business breakfast organised by AmericanBulgarian Chamber of Commerce on April 3. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/revamp-of-culture-house-in-plovdiv-starts-april-7/id_2911/catid_24 Construction Fri 04 Apr 2008Repairs and revamp of the Trade Unions Culture House in Bulgarias second largest city Plovdiv and its repurposing into an arts centre will start on April 7, the consortium that will carry out the works said on April 4, as quoted by investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/tourism-strategy-finalised---kroushkova/id_2910/catid_27 Vacation Fri 04 Apr 2008The tourism strategy is finalised and is now being discussed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs, the head of the State Tourism Agency Anelia Kroushkova told a news conference, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/serbias-nbgp-properties-seals-1488m-euro-real-estate-deal/id_2909/catid_30 South East Europe Fri 04 Apr 2008Serbian real estate firm NBGP Properties has agreed to buy the property portfolio of International CG, which includes Belgrades fivestar Hotel Continental, real estate consultancy firm Colliers International Serbia said on April 4. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/romanias-construction-sector-attracting-investment-funds/id_2908/catid_24 Construction Fri 04 Apr 2008Construction materials companies in Romania are increasingly a target for investment funds, who are attracted to the sector due to its fast rate of growth and high profit margins, Romanian business daily Ziarul Financiar reported on April 4. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/foros-sofia-retail-rents-up-24-in-2007/id_2907/catid_26 Commercial Thu 03 Apr 2008Retail space rentals in Sofia rose by 24 per cent last year, according to the latest Foros real estate company report, released on April 3. Rent prices in the capital fluctuated between 40 and 130 euro a sq m in 2007 and rents in shopping centres between 30 and 60 euro http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/foros-launches-franchising-project/id_2904/catid_26 Commercial Thu 03 Apr 2008Varnabased Foros real estate company, with about 15 years of experience on Bulgarian property market, announced the start of its franchise project at a news conference held on April 3. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sozopol-to-hold-referendum-on-bourgas-alexandroupolis-oil-pipeline-too/id_2906/catid_24 Construction Thu 03 Apr 2008The coastal resort of Sozopol will hold on April 6 its own referendum on BourgasAlexandroupolis oil pipeline project, investor.bg reported on April 3. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/foros-number-of-property-deals-will-fall-this-year/id_2905/catid_27 Vacation Thu 03 Apr 2008The number of property transactions in 2008 is expected to decline due to the withdrawal of British and Irish customers, who used to fuel the markets development in the last several years, and the logical downswing of the business cycle curve, Foros real estate company manager Dobromir Ganev told a news conference on April 3. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/france-is-still-a-good-property-bid/id_2903/catid_28 Finance Thu 03 Apr 2008Investors with property in France can be generally confident that they will receive a reasonable return on their investment, Nick Dowlatshahi, managing director of Leapfrog Properties, told holidaylettings.co.uk. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/romanian-tourists-expected-to-spend-12m-euro-in-bulgaria-during-easter/id_2902/catid_27 Vacation Thu 03 Apr 2008About 10 000 Romanian tourists are expected to flood to Bulgarias northern Black Sea coast during the Orthodox Easter holidays. Easter Sunday, April 27 this year, and the next day are a public holiday in both Romania and Bulgaria, Standart daily reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/the-best-and-the-worst-markets-in-europe/id_2901/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 03 Apr 2008Although some European markets are marking growth, latest data on residential prices indicate that things in Europe, like in the United States, are slowing down, according to a survey published by Forbes magazine on April 1. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/strandja-saved---for-now/id_2900/catid_27 Vacation Thu 03 Apr 2008After a fivehour discussion on April 2, the interdepartmental committee of the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs MOEW turned down the environmental assessment of the amendments of Tsarevo municipality master plan for redesign http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/equest-borrows-2568m-euro-for-logistic-project-in-romania/id_2899/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 02 Apr 2008Equest Balkan Properties investment fund said it borrowed 25.675 million euro from Raiffeisen Zentralbank Austria to finance its Equest Logistics Centre project in Romania, investor.bg reported. The loan has a fiveyear maturity. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/montenegro-property-prices-hit-exorbitant-levels/id_2898/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 02 Apr 2008Prices of Montenegrin real estate rose abruptly after the country declared its independence on May 21 2006, which coincided with growing investor interest, Kapital weekly reported. For instance, property along the Adriatic coast gained 96 per cent on average during the first five months of 2007, as compared to the respective period in 2006 http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/new-buildings-for-sofia-city-court-prosecutors-office/id_2897/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Wed 02 Apr 2008Sofia city hall discussed the possibility to allocate a one ha municipal plot in Zona B5 neighbourhood for the construction of a new building for the Sofia City Court and Sofias prosecutors office, investor.bg reported on April 2 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/aladin-develops-9m-leva-mixed-use-building-in-sofias-lyulin/id_2896/catid_26 Commercial Wed 02 Apr 2008Aladin Ltd. will invest nine million leva in the development of a multifunctional building in Sofias Lyulin neighbourhood, near Slivnitsa underground station, the company said in a statement on April 2. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/only-13-per-cent-of-russians-plan-to-buy-home-in-near-future/id_2895/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 02 Apr 2008The prospects of Russian customers to acquire a new housing unit remain relatively stable. However, like in 2007, only 13 per cent of the residents were planning to improve their living conditions or to buy a new residence in the next seven years http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-albena-resort-to-attract-more-affluent-consumers/id_2894/catid_27 Vacation Wed 02 Apr 2008Bulgarian resorts ranked at the bottom of the price lists of British tour operators, Krassimir Stanev, executive director of Albena Jsc, said at a news conference, Dnevnik daily reported. That is not, however, where Albena wants to be. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fairplay-properties-reit-borrows-money-for-buying-plots-in-sofia/id_2893/catid_28 Finance Wed 02 Apr 2008FairPlay Properties real estate investment trust REIT, part of FairPlay International Jsc, has signed three loan agreements to secure cash for the purchase of land plots in Sofia residential district Studentski Grad, Dnevnik daily reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/wrangles-over-the-amendments-to-bourgas-master-plan/id_2892/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Tue 01 Apr 2008Bulgarias Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works will assign a new procedure for developing a new master plan of Bourgas, regional minister Assen Gagaouzov announced on March 31, quoted by Dnevnik daily. He explained that the new plan for urban development will add new territories to the municipality. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/beach-concessions-up-for-dispute/id_2889/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Tue 01 Apr 2008Amendments to the law on beach concessions envisage Regional Development and Public Works Minister Assen Gagaouzov deciding which 100 coastal beaches would be given on concession or rented out. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/park-reit-announces-2007-financial-results/id_2891/catid_28 Finance Tue 01 Apr 2008Park real estate investment trust REIT registered an annual profit of 5.73 million leva for 2007, 5.72 million of it generated after the mandatory reevaluation of the funds investment properties as required by the law regulating special purpose vehicles. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/us-prologis-pours-another-917m-euro-in-real-estate-across-europe/id_2890/catid_28 Finance Tue 01 Apr 2008ProLogis European Properties, a subsidiary of the United Statesbased company ProLogis, specialised in logistic space, plans to invest another 91.7 million euro in real estate across Europe, Europe RE real estae website reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/albena-to-invest-50m-leva-in-boosting-bed-capacity/id_2888/catid_27 Vacation Tue 01 Apr 2008Albena holding company will pour 50 million leva this year in increasing bed capacity and modernising hotel complexes in Albena resort, according to the company managements plans, published in its corporate report for 2007 and quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/velingrad-attracts-investors-interest/id_2887/catid_25 Residential Tue 01 Apr 2008Land and residential space in Velingrad, in southwestern Bulgaria, almost doubled their values for a year, prompted by growing interest from developers, Stroitelstvo Gradut Construction and the City weekly reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/colliers-croatia-falling-vacancy-rates-are-prompting-a-new-round-of-expansion/id_2886/catid_30 South East Europe Tue 01 Apr 2008Colliers International Croatia says that a new wave of office development in Zagreb is underway, prompted by falling vacancy rates in recently constructed class A offices. The findings come in the international property consultants new Zagreb Office Market Overview for the first half of 2008. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarians-shift-preferences-to-spa-resorts/id_2885/catid_27 Vacation Tue 01 Apr 2008Middleaged Bulgarians have embraced the philosophy of healthy living and recreation, increasingly opting for sparesort vacations, according to the monthly survey of the tourist website travel.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/dncs-issues-193-demolition-orders-for-seaside-buildings/id_2884/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Mon 31 Mar 2008Bulgarias Directorate for National Construction Supervision DNCS has issued a total of 193 orders for the demolition of illegally constructed buildings, including 94 on the north coastline and 99 along the southern coast, DNCS head Ivan Simitchiev told a news conference in Bourgas on March 31, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/ecpc-rejects-offers-for-veliko-turnovo-mall-hopes-to-close-deal-soon/id_2883/catid_26 Commercial Mon 31 Mar 2008European Convergence Property Company investment fund ECPC, the owner of Central Mall in Veliko Turnovo, said in a filing with the London Stock Exchange on March 31 that it had received a number of offers for the retail centre. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarias-economy-grows-more-vulnerable---coface/id_2882/catid_28 Finance Mon 31 Mar 2008Frenchbased leading credit management firm Coface put Bulgaria in its list of countries under surveillance due to the increasing amount of business risk, the credit insurance agency said in a statement on March 30. Coface also downgraded its country risk rating from quot;A4 quot;, which it assigned in January last year, to quot;A4 quot;. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/about-60-per-cent-of-the-apartments-in-winslow-gardens-sold-off-plan/id_2881/catid_25 Residential Mon 31 Mar 2008Investment company Winslow Developments has sold about 60 per cent of the apartments in its residential complex Winslow Gardens in Sofias Manastirski livadi borough even before starting construction on the first phase of the gated community, the company said in a statement on March 31. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/kamchiya-resort-to-receive-heavy-investment-mayor-says/id_2880/catid_27 Vacation Mon 31 Mar 2008The resort village of Kamchiya, located 28 km southward from Varna, will attract significant investment to the tune of between 200 and 250 million euro over the next two or three years, Avren municipality mayor Krassimir Todorov said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/first-tourists-for-summer-2008-season-land-in-bourgas/id_2879/catid_27 Vacation Mon 31 Mar 2008The first group of 74 foreign tourists for the new summer season arrived at Bourgas airport aboard a lowcost Sterling airlines plane from Copenhagen on March 30, Bourgas city hall said in a statement. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-investors-eye-properties-in-the-us/id_2878/catid_25 Residential Mon 31 Mar 2008The financial crunch and a feeble dollar are not such bad news for the United States property market, Pari daily reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/israeli-electra-to-develop-residential-scheme-in-varna/id_2877/catid_25 Residential Mon 31 Mar 2008Israeli real estate developer Electra Group has started construction on its first Bulgarian project a gated residential community in Varna, to be named Botanic VIP Residence, the companys sales manager Petar Petrov told Dnevnik daily on March 30. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/consultancy-firm-hints-at-litigation-with-lewis-charles-sofia-property-fund/id_2871/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Fri 28 Mar 2008On March 27, UKbased real estate consultancy Emerging Markets Understood Ltd EMU has hinted it would take Lewis Charles Sofia Property Fund LCSPF to court over missed payments and loss of profits after the relationship between the two parties broke down over a Bulgarian project. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/king-sturge-in-talks-with-a-local-company-to-land-in-bulgaria/id_2876/catid_30 South East Europe Fri 28 Mar 2008UKbased international property advisory King Sturge, which declared its intention to enter the Bulgarian market, as previously reported, has already chosen a local partner ProCon International property consultants, Yani Stoimenov and Andreana Petkova, managing partners in the Bulgarian company, said in a media statement. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/malls-in-sofia-to-triple-in-space-by-2010/id_2875/catid_26 Commercial Fri 28 Mar 2008After the success of the first four malls in Bulgaria, this sector emerged as one of the most attractive investments last year, Pavlina Nikova, project manager in Forton International consultancy, said, quoted by Pari daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/germanwings-renews-flights-to-bourgas-varna/id_2874/catid_26 Commercial Fri 28 Mar 2008German nofrills airline Germanwings, owned by Lufthansa, will renew flights between the CologneBonn and BerlinSchoenefeld airports in Germany to Bourgas and Varna airports in Bulgaria in May this year, according to its summer season schedule made public on its website. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/sofia-will-have-more-than-1m-sq-m-office-space-in-2008/id_2873/catid_26 Commercial Fri 28 Mar 2008Sofias office space market registered another quarter of strong performance at the end of 2007, according to the latest MBL consultancy report. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/costs-sale-price-ratio-does-not-favour-projects-beyond-sofia--engel-east-europe/id_2872/catid_25 Residential Fri 28 Mar 2008No significant changes in prices or sale volumes in the Bulgarian property market have been recorded since the turn of the year. Prices will remain stable and are unlikely to increase by more than five to 10 per cent in 2008, Liron Or, Engel East EuropeBulgarias executive director, told investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/construction-of-largest-building-in-rousse-is-underway/id_2870/catid_24 Construction Fri 28 Mar 2008Property Commercial Ltd started the construction of the biggest recent building in Rousse, to be named Teodora, local news website ruseinfo.net reported on March 27. With its gross actual area of 22 000 sq m, it will be the biggest edifice in the Danube town built since 1989. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/mixed-use-development-to-sprawl-on-site-of-former-ramstore-in-zapaden-park/id_2869/catid_26 Commercial Fri 28 Mar 2008A modern office and retail centre will spring up on the site of the former Ramstore hypermarket in Sofias Zapaden Park Western Park neighbourhood, Dnevnik daily reported. The project, which is still in an incipient stage, is developed by the plotowner Israeli national Ori Niv and his company On Bulgaria. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/cba-asset-management-opens-veliko-turnovo-hypermarket/id_2868/catid_26 Commercial Thu 27 Mar 2008The first hypermarket of the CBA Asset Management chain in Veliko Turnovo opened its doors on March 27 in Retail Park Veliko Turnovo, company officials told investor.bg. Technomarket, Danish homeware retailer JYSK and a number of other retail chains opened their outlets in the shopping centre on the same day. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/razlog-will-boast-a-12-million-leva-sports-hall/id_2867/catid_24 Construction Thu 27 Mar 2008A new sports hall, seating 3 500 people, will be built in Pazlog, Dnevnik daily reported on March 27. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/batak-will-have-a-new-hotel/id_2866/catid_2 360 degrees Thu 27 Mar 2008Yellowrose Ltd will start construction of a hotel in the town of Batak, the local newspaper Zname Flag reported on March 27. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/technopolis-pernik-breaks-ground/id_2865/catid_26 Commercial Thu 27 Mar 2008The firstsod ceremony of the new Technopolis outlet in Pernik took place on March 25, sgrada.com reported. The future retail unit will be located at 21 Kiril and Metodii Str, near Elena Georgieva sewing factory. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/fairplay-properties-reit-distributes-8m-leva-as-dividend/id_2864/catid_28 Finance Thu 27 Mar 2008At their annual meeting on 25 March, the shareholders of FairPlay Properties Real Estate Investment Trust REIT decided to distribute eight million leva of the companys profit for 2007 as dividend, the company said in a statement. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/trakiya-concession-under-question/id_2863/catid_29 Legal & regulatory Thu 27 Mar 2008The concession contract with the BulgarianPortuguese consortium for the completion of Trakiya Highway will be breached if the concessionaire fails to procure the financing necessary for the project by May 18, regional minister Assen Gagaouzov told Pari daily. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/new-record-for-office-rents-on-champs-elysees/id_2862/catid_26 Commercial Thu 27 Mar 2008EuropArabBank has agreed to pay a new record high rent for an office, located in the Champs Elysees in Paris, property advisor Savills reported, as quoted by investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/direct-investment-in-european-warehouse-space-down-to-15b-euro-in-2007--report/id_2861/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 27 Mar 2008 http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/billionaire-levievs-afi-development-doubles-2007-profit/id_2860/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 27 Mar 2008Russian property investment company AFI Development Plc, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, nearly doubled last year, boosted by the rising demand for highquality office and residential space on Moscow market, the company said in a statement on March 27. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/spanish-property-is-still-a-lucrative-bargain/id_2859/catid_30 South East Europe Thu 27 Mar 2008Spain remains a favourite destination with property investors as it offers a number of attributes that emerging destinations cannot match, Terry Walker, spokesperson for PropertyInSpain.net, said, as quoted by holidaylettings.co.uk. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/euromarket-group-opens-its-regional-centre-in-pleven/id_2858/catid_26 Commercial Thu 27 Mar 2008Industrial and construction equipment engineering company Euromarket Group is opening its regional centre for Central North Bulgaria in Pleven today March 27, investor.bg reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/russian-company-builds-a-residential-complex-at-bulgarian-seaside/id_2857/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 26 Mar 2008Russian holding EtalonLenSpets SMU ELS, specialising primarily in residential construction, started its international expansion through a 30 milliondollar investment in a housing complex in Bulgaria, Property Xpress reported. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/king-sturge-property-consultants-land-on-bulgarian-market/id_2856/catid_30 South East Europe Wed 26 Mar 2008King Sturge, the international real estate advisory, is surveying opportunities for entering the Bulgarian market, company officials told investor.bg. http://propertywisebulgaria.com/article/bulgarian-biofuel-producers-blame-cabinet-for-their-woes/id_2855/catid_29 L