Bulgarian properties 'empty and oversupplied'

[Green_Bear]

There are many properties in Bulgaria’s mountains and coastal areas standing empty, having been sold to inexperienced investors, an expert has claimed.
Simon Tweddle, chief analyst with Property Secrets, has said those areas are “completely over-supplied” and claimed thousands of apartments cannot be sold on but are not being rented out.
“[They] are not an investment location at all, in my book. You’ll probably end up losing your shirt if you invest there,” he warned.
Mr Tweddle claimed that land, labour and materials in Bulgaria were so cheap that developers could make high profit margins and UK agents could earn substantial commission.
He claimed the boom had been created “out of nothing”, fuelled by commission-driven agents. >>>>

Bulgarian properties ‘empty and oversupplied’
londonstockexchange.com/en-g … D=18334606

[Green_Bear]

Tens of thousands of Irish homeowners may be facing financial meltdown as hugely hyped overseas property investments turn sour.
Lured by unrealistic promises of extraordinary returns, Irish investors borrowed heavily to pick up cheap buy-to-let apartments abroad. But property prices in these so called “hotspots” have begun to plummet in recent months.
Along with rising mortgage rates, the strong euro and dismal rental markets, dark clouds are forming for a so- called “Perfect Storm” that could decimate the investment nest eggs of the househunters in the sun.
About 150,000 Irish investors are thought to have bought properties in Spain. However, the oversupply of apartments in Spain’s Costa del Sol has pushed the price of some properties down by as much as 20 per cent.

Foreign property dreams crash
independent.ie/business/fore … 00467.html

[verbatim]

@Green Bear

Tens of thousands of Irish homeowners may be facing financial meltdown as hugely hyped overseas property investments turn sour.
Lured by unrealistic promises of extraordinary returns, Irish investors borrowed heavily to pick up cheap buy-to-let apartments abroad. But property prices in these so called “hotspots” have begun to plummet in recent months.
Along with rising mortgage rates, the strong euro and dismal rental markets, dark clouds are forming for a so- called “Perfect Storm” that could decimate the investment nest eggs of the househunters in the sun.
About 150,000 Irish investors are thought to have bought properties in Spain. However, the oversupply of apartments in Spain’s Costa del Sol has pushed the price of some properties down by as much as 20 per cent.

Foreign property dreams crash

independent.ie/business/fore … 00467.html

We had the above article in this thread

thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?t=4095

It still makes sobering reading the second time round though.

[2Pack]

Must remind viewers (again) of Auto320 who had thefollowing to say on the subject.

The Salesman

I have dealt with enough property salesmen in my time though to know the usual patter, regardless of country, which usually goes like this…

1. Ryanair are going to be flying in here next year.
2. They have applied for the winter olympics/summer olympics/european open etc.
3. This is the last one that faces west – you get the evening sun.
4. This is the last one that faces south - you get the sun all day.
5. This is the last one that faces east – you get the morning sun.
6. This is the last one that faces north – you need to be facing north because the sun will roast you out of it in summer.
7. They are going up on Monday
8. They have gone up since yesterday, but you can have this one at the old price if you close today.
9. There is a 2 year rental guarantee on these.
10. The rent will pay the mortgage.
11. I am buying one of them myself.
12. All the lads in the office have bought one each.
13. The top floor is the best, you don’t have to maintain a garden.
14. The ground floor is the best, you have the use of a garden.
15. I know that the ski season is short, but you can rent it out all summer as well.
16. I know the summer season is short, but it’s only three hours from the ski slopes, you can rent it out to skiers as well.

Ah well, too late if it was Bulgaria.

[verbatim]

I just noticed that the 2014 Winter Olympics have been awarded to Russia (decision was made in July). I know someone who bought in Bulgaria on the basis that they were going to be held there in 2014. As far as I can see they weren’t even one of the candidates. Oh lordy.

[2Pack]

Bulgaria was a candidate for the winter olympics in 2014 but they were eliminated in June 2006 when they came second last in the first selection round. See here

multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1073.pdf

[Green_Bear]

The total number of holiday home units in Bulgaria “increased dramatically” over the first half of 2007, a Colliers Bulgaria report showed.
Supply of holiday homes in the mountain resorts increased by 52 per cent with more than 10,000 new apartments offered in the market.
Nearly 80 per cent of new apartments were built in the Bansko resort and the area.
Another 13,500 newly built apartments were offered for sale in the coastal resorts over the same period, amounting to a 39 per cent increase, the report said. More than one third of these new holiday homes were built in Sunny Beach.
The total number of holiday homes in June 2007 exceeded 76,500.
Supply continued to exceed the demand. Sales prices of resort apartments remained unchanged, between 800 and 1700 euro per sq m.
Atanas Garov, managing director of Colliers Bulgaria, said “international buyers, predominantly British and Irish, continued to account for most of the demand. Recently we have seen a lot of Russians entering the market, and they look to become major players.”

“DRAMATIC INCREASE’ IN HOLIDAY HOMES IN BULGARIA H1 2007- COLLIERS
sofiaecho.com/article/dramat … 2/catid_74

[Green_Bear]

https://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/mly0460l.jpg

Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) has launched a special residential loan programme for citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland, a Raiffeisenbank press statement announced on October 19 2007.
The programme gives foreign nationals the opportunity to buy holiday property, houses, apartments, which are either existing or at least 70 per cent complete.
Loans are denominated both in euro and Bulgarian leva, while the maximum term is 25 years. The grace period, of up to 12 months, obliges the loan beneficiary to pay the interest alone.
The value of the loan can cover up to 80 per cent of the property’s market value. The threshold of the loan is 5 000 euros or the equivalent in leva. There is no maximum amount.
This is Raiffeisenbank’s second new offer for foreign nationals in a month. In September 2007, it began leasing real estate to foreign nationals irrespective of their country of origin or affiliation.
The maximum term of the lease is 15 years and would cover a up to 60 per cent of the sum of the real estate.

RAIFFEISENBANK BULGARIA LAUNCHES RESIDENTIAL LOAN PROGRAMME FOR UK, IRISH NATIONALS
sofiaecho.com/article/raiffe … 2/catid_66

[Green_Bear]

“The credit squeeze has had an impact mainly in the US and the UK, while the market in the past six months has been driven predominantly by investors from Russia, Romania, Poland and Ukraine,” says Rossen Dimov of Rockarch Estates, a London-based property consultancy.

Russians and other east Europeans, who filled Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort hotels in the communist era, are returning as buyers of holiday homes. While no official statistics are available, local estate agents say sales to east Europeans, whether of low-priced apartments or high-end villas in gated developments, have shown a significant increase this year.

“I chose Bulgaria because it’s close enough to drive to if I want, and I feel at home - all the older people speak Russian. And it was affordable, unlike the prices here,” says Pavel Sinelnikov, a businessman in St Petersburg who bought a two-bedroom apartment at Golden Sands, the second-largest Black Sea resort.

Georgi Kirov of Colliers Bulgaria, the property consultants, says prices at big resorts on the Black Sea coast had doubled within a few years before starting to decline even before the credit squeeze, because of an oversupply of apartments and the slow pace of local infrastructure improvements.

Bulgaria booms despite credit crisis
msnbc.msn.com/id/21709760/