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The business climate in Bulgaria has improved August 2010, according to a survey by the National Statistics Institute revealed Thursday.

According to the study, the business climate index has grown by 2 points compared to July due to better climate in construction, retail and services.

On the other hand, the business climate index for industry has dropped by 2 points despite increased productivity, due to an insecure economic environment in Bulgaria and insufficient demand, making up for a more conservative outlook for the coming months.

Construction has marked a 1.7 increase in its index with weaker decrease in activity compared to July.

The business climate index for retail has upped with 4.6, while services mark a 7.7 jump due to improved outlook and forecasts, says the National Statistics Institute report.

Source: novinite.com

A record amount of new commercial space was opened in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report of Forton International, a property advisory company.

A total of 163 000 square meters of new commercial space was inaugurated in April-June 2010, Forton says, currently estimating the total commercial space in the country at 485 000 square meters.

The new commercial space was mostly the result of the opening of new commercial complexes and shopping malls in Sofia, Varna, and Plovdiv. The second quarter included the opening of “The Mall”, the country’s largest shopping mall located in Sofia, and the opening of The Grand Mall Varna.

Thus, Bulgaria has going up in the European ranking of commercial space available per 1000 persons overtaking Greece and Ukraine on that criteria.

With the newly-opened venues, Bulgaria now has a total of 63.89 square meters of commercial space per 1000 inhabitants. The amount of commercial space per 1000 persons is the highest in the centrally located city of Gabrovo – 279 square meters per 1000, and in Varna – 278 square meters per 1000.

The situation in Gabrovo results from having two relatively large shopping malls for a population of only 65 000 people, while the recent opening of the Grand Mall Varna added new 52 000 square meters of commercial space.

Forton International has pointed out in its report that despite the shrunk demand, the interest in high-class commercial areas in Bulgaria remains high – especially as far as Sofia is concerned.

The company has found, however, a staggering decrease in the rent prices of stores on major commercial streets, which are said to have gone down to the 2002 levels. There has been a 30% drop of rent prices in Sofia and up to 45% in other Bulgarian cities in the second quarter of 2010 year-on-year.

Forton expects that the Bulgarian commercial space market will take advantage of the current period of lower business activity to restructure in order to offer new formats of commercial space such as retail parks, which demand lower investments and provide for faster returns.

The company reports emphasizes the fact that despite the availability of a rising amount of unoccupied commercial space, the investors in Sofia are clearly optimistic about the future of the sector, and are returning to increased dynamics with respect to new large-scale products in the last few months. This is seen as an indication about Sofia’s potential for further development of its commercial space.

Source: novinite.com

Joe Upchurch, director of Aston Lloyd said, The obvious attraction of buying in an emerging market is that prices are generally low and if you are buying purely for investment in the areas we have identified, things are bound to change.

"We have highlighted the negatives as well as the positives. Each area is not without risk but with due diligence, you should be able to avoid the pitfalls. Owning something in these areas may not impress your neighbours just yet, but in a few years they may well be jealous."

Below is a snap shot of the report:

1. Slovakia: key emerging market in the European Union, the country's property prices have risen by 100 percent since 2004, its capital Bratislava has 129 percent of the EU average GDP.

Where to invest: Central Bratislava where yields are high. Gross yields on 100 sqm and 120 sqm apartments are around 10.1 percent.

Watch out for: Minor land issues caused by unsolved heritage disputes prior to 1989 may require a prolonged acquisition procedure.

2. China: Home to 21 percent of the world's population and forecast to be larger than the US economy by 2045, already the world's second largest economy based on Purchasing Power Parity.

Where to invest: Shanghai with an increasing demand for high-end property.

Watch out for: Consult with solicitors on precise property rights as given the communist government's policies, certain property rights are not guaranteed.

3. Northern Cyprus: Plans for reunification with the Republic of Cyprus, combined with average annual economic growth of 12.7 percent since 2003 and annual capital appreciation of 25 percent over the past two years, Northern Cyprus is a key property hotspot.

Where to invest: Bogaz - the coastal fishing village is the hot spot for investment. It is popular for its beaches, sought after restaurants and its strategic location near Famugusta.

Watch out for: With the division of the island in 1974 and the forced removal of residents in certain areas, some claims to property may exist if the island division is settled and displaced northern Cypriots return from the South. Buy through a reputable investment company who guarantee no such claims exist on the property under sale.

4. Ukraine: The second largest economy amongst the former Soviet States, with a predicted sustained GDP growth of 5 percent per annum through to 2010.

Ukrainian property in some areas is now priced higher than Warsaw and Amsterdam. Great potential for property investors for some time to come.

Where to invest: Kiev, has a growing expatriate community, and an increasing demand created for high standard builds in the capital. Prices have been driven up by demand. Supply to meet demand has not been sufficient, indicating that there is still room for investment.

Watch out for: Levels of corruption are high so a competent solicitor is essential. Taxes are also moderate to high. Gross rental income stands at 15 percent while leasing a property is subject to 20 percent VAT.

5. Bulgaria: a full member of the EU and tipped to receive over 8.8bn pounds in EU development funding to 2013.

Where to invest: Sofia, the capital city and home to majority of Bulgaria's 200,000 millionaires, prices rose 35.21 percent in 2007 - a strong property investment.

Varna is the summer capital of Bulgaria. Euro 30 million invested in villas, apartments, shops and marinas. A lucrative area to invest, particularly in the holiday sector.

Watch out for: Closing costs are high (VAT, municipal tax, notary fees, registration fees and agent commission are paid by the buyer). Costs incurred by the buyer can therefore be up to 25 percent. There is also rental income tax so investors should make sure their investment returns profitable yields.

6. Turkey: Average annual growth rate of 7.3 percent since 2004, Turkey has established itself as a leading emerging market for property investors.

Burgeoning tourist industry and planned reforms ahead of its EU accession, poised to become one of the world's top 10 economies by 2050.

Where to buy: Belek, Turkey's golfing mecca with plans to add up to 15 golf courses to its range of 5-star golf retreats over the coming years, Belek is bathed in sunshine for 320 days a year. Property investment has increased by 40 percent since 2005.

Bodrum, the yachting and tourism hub of the country where property prices have risen by 30 percent over the past two years.

Altinkum is cheaper than Bodrum yet 90 minutes drive by car from the prime investment resort town offering varied opportunities for on-sell and lettings.

Watch out for: check the planning so you don't have ugly builds near your investment; ensure that property for sale is accompanied by title deeds and make sure you get a competent solicitor to explain the terms before making the decision to purchase.

7. Poland: Poised to become the manufacturing hub of Europe, it has experienced economic growth of 6.3 percent since 2006 with a low inflation rate of 2.5 percent in 2007. The country's housing market is significantly larger than other European emerging markets and mortgages are easier to obtain.

Where to buy: Warsaw, high housing demand and profitable long-stay rental properties.

Krakow, well suited for rental investor with a housing supply that does not meet the demands of its high earning population.

The Tri-City - three adjacent towns of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot lie on the coast of the Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea and attract considerable inward investment from companies looking to recruit due to its wealth of educated professionals. Sopot ranks as Poland's 'best places to live' by Polityka magazine.

Watch out for: Growth in Warsaw potentially unsustainable; increased due diligence on behalf of investors as some vendors offering inflated prices taking advantage of the boom in foreign speculative buying.

This article was provided by Fly-2let.co.uk - a leading UK based overseas property investment website which specialises in investment homes overseas.

Source: phonienews.com

The business climate in Bulgaria is showing some signs of recovery in July with an increase of 1,4 points compared to June, according to the latest figures from the National Statistical Institute (NSI).

The industrial business climate index growth of 2.3 point in July was mainly due to improved assessment of industrial managers about the enterprises' current state and moderate optimism regarding upcoming months.

The most serious problem hampering the sector continues to be the uncertain economic environment, followed by lower local and international demand and financial problems.

The majority of the managers expect that sales prices will maintain their current levels and export will increase in the next 3 months.

The construction business climate index is down by nearly 1 point compared with June; the reason is more pessimistic estimates of the current state of their companies and the decreased construction activity in July.

In July, work orders in the sector went up, while the number of clients who fail to pay on time is slightly down, according to the NSI survey.

Managers described the greatest difficulties in the construction industry as financial problems, the uncertain economic environment and low demand. They expect less activity in the next six months and more layoffs.

In July, those who forecast price stability continue to outnumber the optimists in the construction sector.

In the retail industry, the July business climate index is down by 0.5 points with managers saying the state of their companies is improving, but still predicting lower volume of sales and orders in the next sixth months. Here again, the uncertain economic environment and reduced demand are seen as the main difficulty, while the negative influence of financial problems is going up.

In the services sector the business climate index is up 4 points compared to June due to more optimistic managers' assessment of the current state of their businesses, but forecasts for the demand in the upcoming 3 months are more pessimistic.

The uncertain economic environment, followed by competition and lower demand are also the main factors seen as hindering the services sector. Managers do not expect a price increase in the next three months.

Source: novinite.com

The market for office space will pick up in 2010, according to the forecast of the European Trade Center. As a whole, Bulgarian companies will contribute to about 5 per cent of the demand on the office space market next year. The energy efficiency of the buildings will be among the requirements of tenants in 2010.
According to the expert, the market will pick up thanks to the desire of international companies to streamline their costs and of Bulgarian companies - to move into nice offices, as well as to the emergence of the new quality office projects which will be completed over the coming months.
The initial shock from the onset of the crisis in local branches of the international companies has passed. Instead of constantly cutting capital expenses as they did in the beginning of the crisis, foreign companies have now opted for streamlining them. This has a direct impact on their attitude to their office space - they are ready to change their office if they receive an offer for a higher quality property at a better price, the expert commented.
Local companies are also becoming more active in respect to the opportunity to move into new offices. This is valid both for companies operating in sectors less touched by the crisis - for example IT or outsourcing of business processes - and for such that are aware of the advantages of modern and quality office space.

Source: BTA

Foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria marked an increase of 7.8 per cent in January and February 2010, compared to the same period last year, Maria Ivanova, from the tourism department of the Ministry of Economy, told Bulgarian media in Veliko Turnovo during a cultural tourist exhibition.

The revenue generated for this period amounts to 103.9 million euro, or a 8.2 per cent growth, from last year.

The most substantial increase in tourism was generated by Serbia and Macedonia, with 41 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. Russian holidaymakers also contributed to the growth, with 25.5 per cent more tourists than 2009. Meanwhile, the number of Turkish tourists was 10 per cent higher than last year, while British, Romanian and Greek tourists marked a growth of between two and four per cent.

"The industry is expecting an increase of Bulgarian tourists along the Black Sea coast," Ivanova said.

Source: sofiaecho.com

Bulgaria is among the top 10 most affordable destinations in the world according to the German-language Yahoo! Travel Magazine. The other countries where Europeans can go a long way with their EUR for a memorable holiday are Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Croatia Turkey, Egypt and Hungary.

Meanwhile travel analysts expect that in 2010 the global tourist industry will return to its pre-crisis levels with growing interest towards the event tourism.

Bulgaria registered a significant influx around the Easter Holidays, mainly by Romanian tourists. The beach resort Albena, which is the largest of those closest to the Bulgarian - Romanian border, was visited by about 3 000 visitors for the Easter holidays, with 90% of them Romanian. The town of Veliko Tarnovo and the village of Arbanassi were visited by more than 9 000 tourists during the Easter Holidays.

Source: visitbulgaria.net

According to experts the global economic downturn will have a positive effect on the Bulgarian market in 2010.
Prospective buyers of a flat or a second home in Bulgaria will benefit from the crunch, and collapse in prices, and will be able to secure a good deal. Accordingly, this will make the market considerably more flexible that it was in 2009. "A certain resurgence in the market was observed in the last quarter of 2009 when more deals were processed. The stimulus has come from real estate losing an average of 15 per cent of its value."
Housing property prices in Bulgaria will hit rock bottom by the middle of 2010. They will then stabilise before picking up, rising by at least 10 per cent by the end of the year.
This forecast clashed with projections made by other major real estate agencies which expect the fall to continue throughout the first half of the year, tumbling by 10 per cent before settling. Bulgarian housing market has reverted to 2004 levels in terms of deal numbers bearing in mind that only about 200 000 transactions took place in 2009. Regarding new construction projects, the market is still severely affected. Construction entrepreneurs are currently limiting themselves to offloading units that have already been finished. Until those houses and flats are sold, it is unlikely that new construction will be contemplated. Additionally, "they are willing to offer hefty discounts", the report says.
Permits for real estate construction in Bulgaria fell by 45 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, totalling 69.9 per cent fewer apartments compared to the third quarter. Concurrently, permits for construction of administrative buildings were down by 37 per cent. In the last quarter of 2009, a total of 1343 residential buildings were approved for construction, totalling 3900 flats, according to data from the National Statistical Institute.
The port city of Bourgas topped the chart with 155 new buildings approved, followed by Sofia with 150 and Plovdiv with 143. The most apartments, however, would be built in Sofia - 773, followed by 604 in Varna.

Source: Property Wise

Bulgaria received a special prize at the fifth annual Intourmarket (ITM) expo in Moscow, Russia.

The prize was awarded to Bulgaria by the organizers for its participation and support for the forum, and was presented to the Bulgarian delegation by the Executive Director of the World Tourism Organization, Zoltan Somogyi.

“This award from one of the largest tourism forums in the world is a big recognition for Bulgaria,” said Ivo Marinov, Bulgaria’s Deputy Economy Minister, upon receiving the prize.

Bulgaria is participating for the fifth time in the Intourmarket expo in the Russian capital. It is focusing on presenting itself as year-round tourist destination - stressing also wellness, spa, and cultural tourism.

Ten leading Bulgarian tourism companies are represented in the Bulgarian section targeting Russian consumers with demonstrations of spa treatments and Bulgarian folk dances and music.

The visitors of the 2010 edition of the Intourmarket expo are expected to reach 80 000. It is taking place from March 13 till March 16.

Bulgaria’s Deputy Economy Minister Ivo Marinov, and the Chair of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency Anatoliy Yarochkin have signed a joint actions document for 2010-2011 during the forum. It focuses on boost tourism exchange between the two countries by simplifying the administrative procedures and exchange of statistical and other information on the control of the quality of tourism services.

Russia comes in fourth after Germany as the largest source of foreign tourists to Bulgaria. A total of 287 000 Russians visited Bulgaria as tourists in 2008.

Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Russia, Plamen Grozdanov, said it was an important achievement that Bulgaria managed to retain the same number of Russian tourists despite the economic crisis, as cited by the press office of the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.

The advertising campaign of the Bulgarian Economy Ministry in Russia is going to start in April 2010. It will for one year and will promote Bulgaria as a tourist destination with TV and newspaper commercials, trips for journalists, presentations and billboards in the larger Russian cities.

The budget of the campaign is EUR 1,5 M; another EUR 500 000 will be allocated for Bulgaria’s participation in tourism expos around Russia. The funding comes from the advertising budget for Bulgarian tourism and EU programs.

The Bulgarian government is considering using part of the tourist fees paid to the municipalities where foreign tourists go for advertising initiatives together with leading tour operator companies.

The Economy Ministry has pointed out that the government was using all possibilities that the country has as an EU member in order make faster and simpler the issuing of visas to Russian tourists.

Bulgaria’s Consul-General Angel Georgiev is quoted as saying that 2010 is expected to be a crucial year before Bulgaria joins the Schengen Agreement, and the country will do its best to follow strictly the Bulgarian and the EU legislation as far as the issuing of free visas to children under 6 years of age is concerned.
Source: novinite.com

Bulgaria remains on the top of the list of the Russian real estate market, according to the organizers of the first in Russia international competition for best vacation properties.

The competition is affiliated with the Russian edition of the 35-year-old British “Home Overseas.”

250 projects applied to participate in the competition and 18 made the final cut, of them 3 Bulgarian – in the beach towns of Sozopol and Shkorpilovtsi and in the winter resort of Pamporovo.

According to the Russian real estate agencies dealing with Bulgarian properties, the crisis had not affected negatively Russian interest in acquiring vacation properties in Bulgaria.

The same trend was demonstrated during the first for the year expo of Bulgarian properties, recently held in Moscow. The potential buyers were offered differed payment opptions and legal help. During the exhibit the direct sales have jumped 20% compared to 2009, the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, reports.
Source: novinite.com