Property News

Britons with property in Bulgaria are worried not about losing their real estate because of legal requirements, reports the online edition propertywire.com. Leading consultancy firms in the UK warn that because of the re-registration of companies British owners risk being fined or even losing their assets in this country.

Consultants John Howe & Co. explained that many Britons with Bulgarian property do not realise the complexity of the Bulgarian legal system and its potential impact on them. The managing partner of the firm John Howe is concerned by the requirement for re-registration of companies. Howe points out that until recently, individuals could not buy property in the country and had to register a company in order to purchase Bulgarian real estate. However, many British people have not been aware that they need to re-register and have missed the deadline for it, and as a result their trading activity has been cancelled and they have not been able to dispose of their assets.

The company announced that it had found a way to solve the issue with British owners  of Bulgaria property who missed re-registration, so you they don’t lose their investment. Consultants say there is no accurate statistics on the number of British residents living permanently or temporarily in Bulgaria. According to the British Embassy there are about 8-9 thousand people, who work in the country, others have bought property and live permanently, while others only spend their holidays in the country.

Bulgarian property prices have dropped by almost 50 pc since the beginning of the financial crisis, say realtors. Bulgarian houses and apartments are sold at low prices. This why most buyers who waited for the prices to come down, are buying now. Even in August, a month that seems to be slow for the property market, there are plenty of buyers. These are generally people who have waited for the prices to drop enough, so they could invest their savings in larger and cheaper housing.

For the Bulgarian capital and the larger Bulgarian cities and towns the average sale prices of Bulgaria homes have fallen by about 20 Euros per square meter since the beginning of this year. Most sought-after are one-bedroom apartments within the price range of 35,000 to 45,000 Euros, however buyers struggle to find good properties within this price range, especially when they are looking for newly-built properties.

Rental prices are not expected to go up, agents predict. Even though August and September are the most lively months on the rental market (especially for apartments in Bulgaria), the supply of rentals exceeds the demand. In Sofia, for example, properties close to the newly-built metro stations are more attractive than the old apartments in the centre.

Since 2008 the rental prices have declined by a third and are not expected to go up, experts predict. This is due to the fact that alongside the old apartments in the centre and other residential areas, newly-built apartments, bought during the recession namely because of their investment potential, are also offered on the market.

And in recent months, buyers and renters express their preference towards new buildings close to transport links, areas with low crime rate and local amenities, such as schools and kindergartens.

Cafes, restaurants and food chains are the type of businesses that have been moving the Bulgarian commercial property market in the last six months. The expansion of grocery stores and restaurants is also directed to commercial streets and at shopping malls, says in a Bulgarian retail market report for the first half of the year.

Banks and mobile network providers are also active on the market, but their activity is not due to their expansion, but rather to the optimization of costs and relocation, the report said.
There have not been any surprises in the market for commercial properties in Bulgaria for the first half of the year. Due to high levels of unemployment and the free space in modern shopping centres, the market continues to be rental-oriented, experts indicate.
Although rental rates have stabilized in recent months, the high competition in the market is expressed in different bonuses for tenants, such as gratis periods when they don’t have to pay rent.
In the first half, the average rental price for retail space in Sofia have fallen by 12% to about 28 Euros per square meter and by 16% to 12-16 Euros per square meter in other Bulgarian cities.
The price drop is mainly caused by the fact that many traders were able to renegotiate the rents for the areas used, due to increasing competition in the market, says the report.
Currently, there are 21 modern shopping centers  in Bulgaria and five retail parks with a total lettable area of 680k sqm. There are 9 malls under construction, and for Sofia only this lettable commercial space is expected to grow with another 180k sqm by the end of this year.
Next year in Sofia, the market will grow with additional 93k sqm of retail space in shopping malls. So for  every 1 000 people in the capital there will be more than 300 sqm of modern retail space. The country average for retail space per 1 000 people of the  population will be a little less than 100 sqm, if all construction projects are completed on time.

For commercial properties for sale in Bulgaria, mainly in the Veliko Tarnovo area, please feel free to have a look at our catalogue.