After an avalanche of investment in shopping centres in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv, another trend has emerged. Entrepreneurs targeted smaller regional urban centres where markets have not yet reached the maturity of the quot;big three quot;. Realtors have one simple rule for malls one large shopping centre is viable for every 100 000 residents in an urban area, including cities, nearby towns and villages.
Like other sectors of the property market, the office sector displayed stable growth during 2007. Large cities and Sofia in particular remained the hub for most business investors. Cheap office rentals in major cities, such as the 12 euro a sq m charged in Business Park Sofia, would appear to be history.
Will Bulgarias capital ever boast a large amusement park to rival other EU cities Funloving Sofians will be pleased to hear that an ambitious megaproject, christened Iskur Park, is being planned. The new park is likely to make its predecessor, SofiaLand, seem modest.
We all dream of living in luxury. Few people are genuine ascetics, at least on a permanent basis. A committed leftwinger once remarked to me that quot;my idea of socialism is that everyone should have a mansion and a Rolls Royce quot;. His tone of voice suggested that he was joking, but I dont think he was.
Most domestic buyers seem to believe falsely that quot;new quot; equals luxury. They should exercise care, particularly with offplan purchases. Many Bulgariabased developers also believe perhaps correctly that foreign buyers are looking for quot;bargains quot;. Developers sometimes cut corners to deliver the contractual price at the expense of quality.
FairPlay Properties REIT is the local market leader for securitization of real estates with a share of 14.59 per cent in assets, excluding investments in agricultural land. The companys main activities are construction, renting and the sale of holiday properties.