December 13, 2017
Metalworking Plant in Vidin has been Put Up For Sale for 34 Bitcoin

A metalworking plant in the village of Ruzhintsi in Vidin is the first Bulgarian enterprise officially announced for sale, priced in Bitcoin.

The proposal is for the owner Yuliana Kostova, who invests in cryptocurrencies and has a real estate and tourism business, including the Wind Mills Hydropark near Gorna Malina, announced Capital Daily.

The price of 92.53% of the Metal Structure Plant is the equivalent of 495,000 euros, and the price can be paid even with ethereum. The cost of the plant is 34 bitcoin, the newspaper estimates.

The announced price of 495 thousand euros, according to Kostova, is well below the external evaluation, which is 1.15 mln. Euro. "When something stands and does not work, there is no point in keeping a high price," said the owner. According to her, the property is suitable for a variety of industries.

November 24, 2017
Bulgaria Remains Among the 15 most Desirable Destinations for Buying a Second Home

Bulgaria remains among the 15 most desirable destinations for buying a second home in October, according to the regular ranking of TheMoveChannel.com portal.

Our country ranks 11th, climbing two positions compared to September, with a share of 1.44% of all inquiries made in the portal.

In the top five of the ranking there are serious changes. In the first place, Spain comes up with 6.5% of inquiries. The US fell second with just over 5% of inquiries.

Third place last month is Portugal, which collects 4.4% of inquiries from buyers.

Fourth place is for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely Dubai, and France, which climbed to second place in September, falls fifth with 2.6% of inquiries.

Top 10 is complemented by Jersey Island, Turkey, Cape Verde, Italy and New Zealand.

Mauritius and Greece are the destinations with the largest drop in demand - respectively 15 places to 23rd position and 14 places to 18th position.

At the same time, Tanzania makes the biggest jump - 29 places to 16th position. Cyprus advances with 11 places in the ranking to 12th position, and Latvia - with 10th to 39th position.

November 3, 2017
Eurostat: 85% of Bulgarians Live in their Own Home

Nearly 85% or more than 8 out of 10 Bulgarians live in their own home, with an average EU indicator of 7 to 10 Europeans, according to a Eurostat analysis of the housing stock in the EU last year, Darik said.

According to statistics, about 54.5% of the population lives in houses and 45.5% are in blocks of flats.

In the EU, about 70% of people own their homes, while 30% are on loan.

November 3, 2017
1/3 of Homes and Apartments in Bulgaria are Uninhabited

Nearly 1.2 million homes in Bulgaria are uninhabited. This is approximately 1/3 of the total number of homes in Bulgaria. In the capital, the "dark windows" are close to 24%, but in rural areas the percentage is far higher - up to 43, reports sega.

In the big cities, an average of 1/4 of the dwellings are uninhabited. The information is according to a World Bank report prepared for the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW). It should serve to draw up a new housing strategy for the country, which should be ready by the end of November.

The data from the report comes amid rising real estate prices, which in the capital and in some of the big cities already reach pre-2008-2009 levels. According to national statistics, the boom in the new construction continues - for the first nine months of this year, the permits issued for construction increased by 29%, the apartments in them - by 44.5%, and their built-up area is 47.2% more than in the nine months of 2016.

Most of the new buildings are in the capital and in the big cities. Because of rising prices and increased supply, experts even talked about "dark window syndrome" - an increasing number of new homes that can not be sold.

October 30, 2017
First Time in Bulgaria: Residential Complex Received a Certificate for a Sustainable Building

For the first time in Bulgaria, Housing and Commercial Complex has been certified in Bulgaria by BREEAM, the most widely used global standard for sustainable buildings, reports mediapool.

This is the San Stefano Plaza metropolitan complex, which after four years of evaluation work carried out by the team of MOMERIN has BREEAM Excellent certificates for all three parts - residential, commercial and office. The building has a high level of energy efficiency, a healthy living environment, increased environmental value of the landscape and surrounding terrain, optimized waste management, proven environmental building materials and a building management manual developed.

Consumption of energy and natural resources is optimized through RES systems, waste heat treatment from refrigeration chambers for hot water, rainwater utilization, and so on. An improved organization of transport flows has been introduced and cycling is provided. The requirements of BREEAM-2013 are set to be achieved even during the construction and assembly works of the site carried out by Geostroy AD.

October 25, 2017
Construction and the Property Market with a Serious Jump in 2017

The real estate market continues to grow at a record pace in 2017, with the main reason being new construction. For the second quarter of the year, 207 building permits were issued for residential buildings in Sofia, an increase of 25% compared to the first quarter of the year and 10% compared to the same period in 2016. This is the data from an analysis made by IMOTICON with the partnership of SND Capital according to NSI data, National Register for New Construction, BNB and Registration Agency, reports iNews.

In the next few years, the real estate market is expected to go over 816,000 square feet of living space, and this is a statistic of residential complexes and buildings that have been authorized for construction over the past two years. The interest of the builders for investment continues to grow and the priority is finding a large enough plots with an attractive location to satisfy the growing needs of the market. The most desirable destination remains the center of the capital, but because of the overcrowding, the traffic and the lack of parking places, the focus and the investment intentions are shifting significantly to the southern districts of Sofia. The fastest growing quarter is Manastirski Livadi - east. By the end of 2019, nine new projects are expected to be put into operation in the region, and await the opening of a decommissioning site.

IMOTIKON data show that the demand for residential property continues to grow and the rise in prices does not frighten the trained and well-informed buyer as the market develops with good sustainability and economic performance. "Today's buyer wants new construction, but not one that was completed five years ago, and one that he can modify and finish according to his own requirements," says Dnyo Dobrev, Executive Director of the Joint Stock Company "CND Capital", which is part of IMOTIKON. Today, the buyer is extremely demanding and well-informed, and banks are actively involved in checking and gathering information about sites, he adds.

According to him, more than 90% of the sites currently under construction in Sofia are realized even before Act 16, while about 10% of the apartments remain unrealized in the case of Act 16. "Everyone expects to see a large percentage of buildings, but these buildings will be sold in advance," Dinyo Dobrev said.

This is the example of the last project of the company - ARCADIA Residential Complex. For the first month, 10% of the apartments have been booked since the launch of the sales campaign, and by the end of the year the construction site is expected to be opened. The complex, spread over 6,300 square meters, offers over 160 apartments in 22,700 square meters of built-up area. Children's center, park and beautiful views of Vitosha and Sofia are just some of the amenities offered by ARCADIA at the most competitive prices in the area. The plans of investors and builders is Manastirski Livadi - East to become an exemplary neighborhood, with well-arranged infrastructure, numerous amenities for the residents. The rising interest and fast-paced deals only indicate that this goal is fully achievable.

October 24, 2017
Part of a Main Boulevard in Plovdiv Turned out to be Private Property

The owner has enclosed the stretch of over 100 meters.

Part of a key boulevard in Plovdiv turned out to be private property, Nova TV reported.

Twenty years ago, a family restituted land on which was build one canvas of Kuklensko shose - one of the main arteries of Plovdiv.

There a number of public transport passes daily.

For years Rhodopi Municipality, within whose borders the plot was, refused to compensate people, and the institutions transferred responsibility.

The owner has surrounded the plot of over 100 meters from the Kuklensko shose, thus blocking one of the city's entrances.

There was a huge jamming, police intervened, added Nova TV.

October 20, 2017
The Chief Architect Offers Two Skyscraper Areas far from Downtown Sofia

Two city areas for the construction of skyscrapers will be established in Sofia, in the center of the city the construction will be up to 75 m. This is how the chief architect Zdravko Zdravkov imagines the development of the city, today he made a presentation to the municipal councilors the project for the amendment of the Law on the Structure and Construction of the Sofia Municipality, reports bTV.

The proposed changes "close the loopholes", which allow higher than permitted construction, Zdravkov noted. The height of the buildings are related to both the fire safety norms and the purpose of keeping the "visual corridors" to the mountain.

Thus, the two "high" zones are 7 km away to the Iskar River along Blvd. Tsarigradsko shose and to the west on Blvd. "Tsaritsa Yoana" opposite to the Ring Road. The idea - places that have infrastructure and easy access public transport to develop such complexes, said Zdravkov.

The Western complex will begin to form after the development of the metro station from Lyulin metro station to the new metro station between the second and third micro-district and the construction of a next metro station after the Ring Road, he explained.

In the area of the central station there is an opportunity to build buildings up to 125 m high, the chief architect said.

In this context, a building of up to 75 meters will be located in the areas between Blvd. Tsar Boris Treti, the center, Dragan Tsankov Blvd., Alexander Malinov Blvd. and the Ring Road.

October 5, 2017
Bulgaria is the Leader in Renovating Buildings with Public Funds

Bulgaria is the EU leader in spending public funds in the area of public housing and public amenities. This takes into account Eurostat's analysis of "Housing Policy in the EU" in 2015, quoted by BTA.

Our country has the highest total EU spending on housing rehabilitation and public amenities at 2.1 per cent of GDP. Of these, "housing" in Bulgaria amounts to 1.1 percent of GDP in 2015, Eurostat data show.

To date, over 4,500 energy efficiency certificates have been issued after renovation of residential buildings rehabilitated under the national energy efficiency program. New state funding for rehabilitation may happen in 2019.

In the future, the program is scheduled to continue with co-financing by the participants, and new state funding is expected in 2019. In 2018, the ongoing projects will be completed.

October 3, 2017
Bulgaria Ranks Eighth in Europe in Income from Rented Properties

Bulgaria is ranked eighth in Europe in income from rented property, the online edition simplybusiness.co.uk reports, referring to WorldFirst payment group calculations.

The average income in our country reaches 5.77%.

Leader in Europe is Ireland with an income of 7.08%. Malta is second with 6.64% and Portugal with 6.43% is third.

The top 10 is complemented by the Netherlands, Slovakia, Belgium, Turkey, Cyprus and Hungary.

At the bottom of the list is Sweden with an average rental income of 3.03%. Croatia and France are just ahead of it with 3.82%.

For 12 months, Britain recorded the strongest decline in ranking - 10 positions to 25th with an average rental income of 4%. The reason - the "challenging environment" for homeowners, such as tax deductions for rented dwellings, and tax cuts in a deal to curb speculation because of housing shortages in major cities in the country.

Tightening the requirements for buyers of mortgage lending, investors face the vague prospects of Brexit, which is still under negotiation.

According to Edward Hardy of WorldFirst, the worsening dynamics of the UK's rental market sounds like a signal for a further slowdown in housing markets.

September 6, 2017
Iceland will Tighten the Rules for Acquiring Land by Foreigners

Chinese investors have an enormous desire to invest in tourism in Iceland. But the problem is that local residents are not at all friendly, Bloomberg writes.

Since the North Atlantic nation has fully reintegrated into the international community since the financial crisis, its center-right government now wants to tighten the rules and restrict foreign ownership.

This move comes amid the boom of foreign visitors and new attempts by an unidentified Chinese entrepreneur to acquire an area of ​​12 sq. Km and build a holiday resort in the so-called Golden Circle of the Island, the most popular tourist destination in Iceland. An even more ambitious Chinese offer was blocked in 2012, the news agency recalls.

Tourism is now the number one industry for Iceland, partly thanks to scenes from a James Bond movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the Game of Thrones TV series.

The foreign appetite for Icelandic land comes amid the prosperous property market. House prices are rising by 54.6% between December 2009 and July 2017, according to Iceland statistics, as well as the Arctic resources race.

Experts, however, expect China's interest in the country to continue to grow despite stumbling blocks.

August 28, 2017
Rents in Sofia Rise Up with 10%

Rents in Sofia are rising on average between 8 and 10%, according to real estate brokers. In the last year, the biggest rises were of the rooms in Studentski grad, Nova TV reported.

The boom in Sofia is in August and September, experts say. Firstly, because the students come and the second reason is the people who have chosen a new job in the capital.

BGN 500 per month is the amount best suited to most people according to the survey of brokers. The most advantageous is to rent in the spring, and the most desirable neighborhoods in the capital are the eastern.

The trend is that next year there will be no increase in prices, and they will remain at one level.

July 20, 2017
Housing Prices in Bulgaria are Rising with one of the Fastest Rates in the EU

Household prices in Bulgaria registered one of the biggest increases in the first quarter in the European Union on an annual basis - 8.8%. This shows latest Eurostat data released on Wednesday. Reports Investor.

Thus our country ranks fifth in the ranking, with the Czech Republic having a 12.7% increase. Lithuania followed by Lithuania (10.2%), Latvia (10.1%) and Ireland (8.9%).

The statistics show that in the last few years there has been a steady rise in house prices in Bulgaria after it was only 0.7% in the first quarter of 2014. Though prices fell slightly in the fourth quarter of last year, they went up again in the first three months of 2017. Overall, house prices in the European Union grew by 4.5% in the first quarter. The increase in the Euro zone is slightly lower - 4.0%.

March 13, 2017
Bulgaria's Property Prices Up by 12% in Six Months Alone

In six months alone, real estate prices in Bulgaria have jumped by 12%, showed data of the Association of Real Estate Brokers.

In Sofia, the average price is about EUR 1,000 per sq m. There is growing interest in deals in new construction real estate.

Broker Iliyana Vasileva explained that real estate property of up to 60 sq m is most sought after and people purchase such properties in order to invest and lend these. After a certain slump in the market, now there is a deficit in supply:

“Since the beginning of the year, there has been a deficit in the supply of quality real estate in all segments. We are not just talking about small apartments! Let’s say a nice, brick, three-room apartment with a garage. There is no choice and no supply of such offers,” said Vasileva.

This is why ¼ of the buyers are targeting deals in new construction properties.