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Bulgaria continues to be among the top destinations for Brits, who are looking to move abroad, shows statistics from a property website.

Spain, France and the US were the most searched-for destinations, while Cyprus, Turkey and Bulgaria, which registered the highest monthly increases of between 55 % and 60 %, found their way into the top ten, according to the latest Primelocation International Search Index.

The index showed that enquiries after international property rose by 134 % between January 2009 and 2010, while searches were also up by 25 % between December 2009 and last month.

Adam Samuel, director at Nubricks.com, said that although enquiries are definitely increasing, landlords building insurance policyholders should not take that to mean the market is booming.

"We need to be cautious about what that means in terms of actual recovery. A lot more people are looking at what is available and considering where to invest," he commented.

Source: novinite.com

Veliko Tarnovo has become the romantic capital of Bulgaria for 2010 after its citizens wrote the longest love letter of 30 meters.

The contest was organized by the bookshop chain ‘Helikon’ and involved 10 Bulgarian cities. The total length of all the letters which were added to by citizens from all over the country reached 110,05 meters.

Last year’s romantic capital Burgas came second with a letter of 23,7 meters and plovdiv third with a letter of 8,7 meters.

The competition was held ahead of Valentine’s Day and was inspired by the book ‘longed for love letters of famous Bulgarians’ which included writings by Hristo Botev, Ivan Vazov and Stefan Stambolov.

Source: novinite.com

Bulgaria is to be presented at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) 2010 in Israel’s Tel Aviv Tuesday and Wednesday.Bulgaria Presented at Tel Aviv IMTM 2010 Tourism Expo

Its participation in the oldest tourism expo in the Eastern Mediterranean is led by Bulgarian Deputy Economy Minister in charge of tourism, Ivo Marinov.

The Economy Ministry is presenting Bulgaria as a year-round destination including winter and summer tourism, as well as spa and cultural tours. During his visit to Israel in January 2010, Bulgaria’s PM Boyko Borisov promised a large-scale presentation of Bulgaria at the IMTM expo.

In 2009, the IMTM expo was attended by 870 participants from 40 nations.
Source: novinite.com

The demand for European property by Russians is steadily increasing despite the economic crisis, Russian media have reported.

According to official data, Russian people are currently the most active foreign buyers of property in Europe, especially in its eastern regions. The majority usually look for property near the famous ski resorts of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Turkey and other countries with a well-developed tourism sector.

Russians now account for almost half the buyers of real estate in Europe, despite the fact that compared with 2009, the number of transactions completed by them has decreased by 5%.

In contrast, the demand for foreign property among the citizens of the European Union and the US has significantly dropped since the beginning of the recession.

According to the Kvadroom Property Group, currently prices on real estate in Russia are so high that more and more Russians prefer to invest their money in buying property abroad.

The average cost of one square meter of housing in Moscow is now more than USD 5 000.

Whereas in the past many preferred to buy homes and apartments in Eastern Europe, Russian citizens are now also increasingly interested in Western European real estate.

Source: Novinite.com

In spite of the global economic downturn, close to 271 000 tourists visited the Tsarevets Castle in the medieval Bulgarian capital Veliko Turnovo in 2009, according to Sonya Petrova, head of the Tourism Department in the Regional History Museum, Bulgarian news agency Focus said on January 8 2010.

The breakdown includes 84 000 primary and secondary school pupils and 34 000 university students, 110 000 Bulgarian adults and more than 43 000 foreigners.

The number of visitors in 2009 was higher than in 2007 but eight per cent less than in 2008.

"This is by no means a drastic drop. It is apparent that the economic crisis has had an effect, but whereas some other historic sites are perhaps neglected, Tsarevets retains its pull," Petrova said.

"Some people visit it because of its historic significance, others just for the walk, while some because they want to feel Bulgarian again," she said.

Visits to Tsarevets Castle last year saw visits peak around St George's Day, celebrated in Bulgaria on May 6, and around the Easter holidays, according to the report.

It is also often visited by people travelling to and from Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.

Tsarevets is on a hill bearing the same name in Veliko Turnovo. The castle was the primary fortress of the Second Bulgarian Empire from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces.

During the Middle Ages, armouries, residential buildings, craftsmen's workshops and numerous churches and monasteries were accommodated within the walls of the fortress. Archaeological excavations have unearthed about 400 residential buildings, royal quarters, more than 22 churches and four monasteries.

Towering on the summit of the hill is the patriarchal complex. The frescoes inside depict conventional Christian subjects as well as "glorious and tragic" moments of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

One of the hallmarks of the castle complex is Baldwin's Tower, strategically positioned in the south-eastern part of the fortress. It is on the site of the original medieval tower where Latin Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople was executed as a prisoner of Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria.

Tsarevets was the paramount strategic and defensive installation in the country until 1393, when the castle was besieged by Ottoman forces for more than three months before being captured and subsequently sacked on July 17. The destruction of the castle marked the fall of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

Restoration of the building began in 1930, when the first of the three gates of the main entrance to the fortress were reconstructed.

The Baldwin Tower was among the first parts to be rebuilt, while the citadel on the top of the complex was reconstructed in 1981 and decorated four years later.

Today, a popular spectacle is the the Sound and Light (Zvuk i Svetlina) audiovisual show conducted in the evenings, using laser lights, floodlights, music and church bells.

Source: Sofiaecho.com

Bulgaria's medieval capital Veliko Turnovo, the alpine resort town of Bansko and the spa resorts of Velingrad and Sandanski were the most popular tourist destinations in the country over the winter holidays period, Dnevnik daily reported on January 4 2009.
Bansko wrapped up the most vists, which was only natural as the resort also possesses the largest bed capacity with its numerous hotels, Blagoi Ragin from the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA) was quoted as saying.
"Bansko and Turnovo demonstrated very good results with over five thousand tourists accounted for in both places, which is a significant achievement for cultural tourism," Ragin told Dnevnik.
According to statistics from BHRA quoted by Dnevnik, Velingrad accounted for the highest prices of all resorts. "In spite of that, the resort was packed to capacity, which is testimonial for quality service".
Polling agency Alfa Research had conducted a survey prior to the festive period, which showed that 81 per cent of Bulgarians planned to celebrate New Year's Eve at home, while 10 per cent would visit friends or relatives. These statistics were in line with the trend from the previous three years, Dnevnik said.
Winter resorts across Bulgaria however were reeling from the unexpected warm weather that descended on the country over the holiday period, affecting the number of tourists that resorts such as Pamporovo were hoping to attract, amongst others.
Most tourists that spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Pamporovo left the resort early, although majority of tourists had contemplated to stay until January 3.

Source: Sofiaecho.com

The downturn in the real estate sector in Bulgaria caused by the global economic crisis has not affected the construction of luxury properties in the country.
This opinion has been expressed by entrepreneurs and experts who participated in the “High Class in Construction” exhibit which took place in Sofia over the weekend.
Experts believe that the economic crisis has led to a greater focus precisely on high-quality properties.
According to the Chief Architect of Sofia, Petar Dikov, Bulgaria has a very good potential for a dynamic market of luxury properties.
The participants in the expo believe that the crisis has hit mostly the low-quality construction projects in the country, and that most investors actually have made mistakes by seeking quick returns on property investments without accounting for good quality.

Source: novinite.com

In recent years, one big driving factor for those individuals interested in buying property in Bulgaria, Spain etc, has been the prospect of getting a foothold in an upwardly mobile market, assured of decent profit should they decide to sell.

Real estate in Bulgaria started along the path well trod by Spain as the country became a holiday mecca and the lure of owning a holiday home, especially with the prospect of buying to rent, fuelled the increase in construction.

But another driving factor for a great number of investors has been the desire to seek out a better quality of life, an incentive which has been shadowed by the dominant financial gain seen by most.

Now the money bubble has burst, more and more buyers are once again looking at investment property in Bulgaria with the focus on an improving lifestyle change. Many expats are now reporting how the frugal Bulgarian attitude to finance and consumerism is helping them enjoy a new approach to life whilst still offering terrific value for money.

With prices as low as they are now, 2010 could be the year to make that move.

Source: Propertyworld.com

Although recent reports reflect a tightened economy in Bulgaria, the steps for improvement are being made in areas which will be the foundations of a much wiser, leaner, keener, more stable Bulgaria.
Real estate in Bulgaria is experiencing ebb & flow as residential construction is cut back but infra structure moves ahead. The government is focused on getting the basics right before thinking of the quickest route back to boom.
A forward moving programme of road & highway construction & improvement is underway, with well established European retailers locating to Bulgaria and expanding into growing communities.
The country is seeing an increased amount of investment, especially from Russians who seem attracted to property for sale in Sunny Beach, Varna & other coastal locations.
Many industry experts are expecting the value in Bulgaria property to begin rising in 2010, with many advising would-be investors to consider well established properties in towns and villages, where even better deals are being regularly over looked in favour of coastal units.

Source: Propertyworld.com

Bulgaria is offering investors some promising prospects, it has been suggested.

According to Property Abroad, evidence that the market is emerging from its slump has arisen in the form of Russian investors snapping up bargains in tourist resorts.

Commenting that the country's property has "always" been among the cheapest but suffered from an oversupply situation in the past couple of years, the portal stated that this situation should even out between countries, as other nations also have oversupply issues.

It listed coastal locations such as Pamporovo, Dobrich, Yambol and Kavarna as places with plenty of investment potential, noting that some lots could be bought for as little as Ј7,000 and can be turned into buy-to-let homes, provided buyers have the time to renovate them.

Such purchases should be undertaken as long-term prospects, it was advised.

Buy Association recently tipped Bulgarian prices to start rising again as early as next year.

However, its recommendation was for buyers to focus on long-established towns and villages instead of coastal resorts.

Source: Propertyshowrooms.com