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The global downturn is having an impact on the commercial sector in Bulgaria but there is confidence in the long term future of the real estate markets, it is claimed.

According to statistics released by Forton International, a Bulgarian real estate agency, there has been a decline of between 20 and 30% in some areas in Sofia and other major urban centres nationwide.

'The trend for rent level growth at the beginning of 2008, which was expected to remain stable, has in fact stalled and then slumped substantially,' says the report.

'Some of the factors behind the decline are explained by the alarming slide in demand, and the subsequent heightened caution of customers due to the negative outlook of the economy,' said Sergei Koinov, executive director of Forton International.

But on the plus side it means that in 2009 potential tenants will have a much greater choice to obtain more spacious and better located offices for the same budget.

The latest survey by the global consultant firm CB Richard Ellis says that tenants will benefit from cheaper prices, more attractive locations and greater choices.

In fact the commercial real estate company is so confident about the market it has acquired a new partner in Bulgaria with the aim of establishing a stronger presence in central and eastern Europe.

Colin Wadel CBRE director of central and Eastern Europe, said he expects the market in Bulgaria to be 'vibrant and competitive'. He added; 'Bulgaria is a country of great significance in the region, with a very positive outlook for the long term future which will stimulate substantially the real estate market.'

'The company will diversify in all segments of the real estate business, with special attention being paid to hotels and hotel management,' he continued.

Although property prices in both the commercial and residential real estate markets have been falling there is confidence in the future with developers pushing ahead with projects. Since the beginning of 2009 there have been 190 construction projects approved for development.

Around half of these are for infrastructure expansion and modernisation as part of a five billion leva programme proposed by the Bulgarian Government to battle the economic crisis with massive public spending.

These public construction projects vary greatly in nature and size. Some permits are for railway stations, others are for road sectors in need of renovation or expansion while others are for office buildings, small hotels and administrative centres.

Source: propertywire.com

The focus of the national participation will be represented on an eco, agriculture and adventure tourism, the tourism agency announced. For the first time on a big forum will participate the first tourist region in the country - the Sofia region. The municipalities Nessebar and Balchik, big tour operators and hotel-keepers, as well as the national transport company "Bulgaria air" have signed up to participate.

ITB announced that over 11 companies from 187 countries will take part in the forum. They will be placed in a total of 26 halls.

The newest country in the world Kosovo will also have a stand. Moreover, countries, which did not participate for years in the market, will return, the organizers announced. These are Malawi, Gabon, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Bahrain. Official partner of ITB this year will be the Ruhr region, chosen for European capital of culture in 2010.

The conference programme will be supported by Turkey, which significantly increased its advertising this year. Many round tables on the world crisis, which already hit the industry hard, will be included. Leading experts and 120 Ministers of tourism are expected to take part.

The market in Berlin is being organized for the 43rd time and will continue until March 15. It is expected that it will be visited by 160 thousand guests.

Source: News.bg

Bank loans remained the most popular means of payment in real estate transactions, according to data of fincity.bg, the Bulgarian comparison shop portal for financial products and services.
Despite the crunch, property buyers opt for the classical mortgage because it offers the highest security for both buyers and sellers, the website said.
Property leasing deals are scarce, with most firms focused on core services such as auto and equipment leasing and on running current portfolios.
Funding schemes offered by developers are a last-resort option for buyers who cannot proof their income to banks.
Fincity estimated the average consumer loan was 9100 leva in February, with most loans taken for five to 10 years.

Source: Dnevnik.bg

More Romanian companies are shifting south across the Danube to Bulgaria in an effort to shield themselves from the worst effects of the financial crunch in their own country and find a more rewarding business climate elsewhere, as reported by the Standart daily.
This trend has already been observed to the south as hard hit Greek companies try to find better business conditions. The Greek newspaper Vima reported that Greek businesses are attracted to Bulgaria because of lower operating costs. Some multinational companies like Tate&Lyle Greece, German Triumph and American Crown Cork & Seal have already started operations in Bulgaria.
According to Kamen Kolev, the Director of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, companies are attracted to the Bulgarian market because expenses, running costs and wages can be up to 40 per cent lower.
In light of the Romanian surge the northeastern city of Ruse has witnessed a dramatic increase in demand for rental property businesses. This is expected to continue throughout 2009.
According to Kamen Kolev, Greek companies and multinational companies based in Greece are likely to continue to opt for Bulgaria because the average wage in Bulgaria is up to three times lower than in Greece.

Source: sofiaecho.com

A total of EUR 3,9 B is the expected income from the 2009 tourist season in Bulgaria, the Head of the Bulgarian Institute for Analysis and Evaluation of Tourist Business, Rumen Draganov, explained, cited by the Pari Daily.
EUR 1,9 B of Bulgaria's total tourism revenue is expected to come from foreign tourists, and EUR 2 B - from Bulgarian tourists.
"We should not expect losses resulting from the global financial crisis", Draganov said. In his words, no reservations have been canceled yet. "Everybody is talking about delay in making reservations. Except for the Russians, no one else has asked for lower prices", he said.
Representatives of the tourist business objected to Draganov, and explained that there had been fewer tourists during the winter season so far. They added that Japanese and British tour operators had asked for price reduction.

Source: Sofia News Agency

On 20 Feb. in Sofia Kempinski-Zografski hotel was held the local conference BalREAct - Reaction to Crisis. The concept for this event is a reaction to the dynamic changes in the economic situation in Bulgaria and the world. The conference is a platform of the business for discussion of the real market situation, its main issues and solutions in the sector for the few years to come. Among the subjects were analysis of the macro environment - legislation, investments, finances, real property, investments encouragement, local authorities role, public-private partnership and administrative services, housing policy, taxation and incentives, credit policy, real property market and price - quality ratio. The confidence in the real property sector will be restored soon and Bulgaria will become an attractive destination after the western economies recover. The key is to focus not only on today but on tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The rate of savings of the population of 15% of the GDP in Bulgaria will help the country go back to normal after the end of the crisis faster than the other East-European economies, the forecast for 2009 is 0.8% GDP growth. This was said by Bozhidar Neychev from PriceWaterhouseCoopers at the opening of the event.

Source: Stroitelstvo.info

Bulgaria pursues a correct fiscal policy, but it will be better to reduce the budget expenditures, part of the EC report reads.
Brussels inspected Bulgaria and other 16 EU member states as regards the application of their rescue plans in times of financial crisis and check out if the states meet the requirements for financial stability within the EU.
According to the assessment of the EC, Bulgaria's fiscal policy is correctly directed to overcoming the macro-economic imbalance".
Bulgaria has fulfilled the requirement on the budget deficit and the budget strategy of the cabinet till 2011 is also aimed at keeping a budget surplus of 3% of the GDP. Apart from that, Bulgaria's fiscal policy is oriented at winning back the trust of investors.

Source: Standart newspaper

The Bulgarian Parliament approved the decision to join a university network of 14 countries in Central Europe, with Bulgarian becoming a member of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said on February 12 2009.
The document sees Bulgaria incorporating the ECTS, which will substantially augment academic standards and ease the transfer of academic credits from one educational institution to another, both within Bulgaria and from Bulgaria across the European Union.
This document has been signed already by Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. It is a part of the Central European Exchange Program for University Studies.
ECTS has been designated as standard for comparing the study attainments and performance of students of higher education establishments in the EU and participating non-EU countries. Upon successfully completed academic courses, students can be rewarded with a European-accredited ECTS report.
Currently, the system means that an academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits, which itself would correspond to 1500-1800 hours of academic courses. The system will be standardised for all EU member states and it will be used to facilitate transfer of credits from one academic institution to another, thus easing academic progression through the European Union.
ECTS also includes a standard grading scale, intended to be shown in addition to local, or national standard grades

Source: sofiaecho.com

A residential complex called Blue Mountain Aparthouse will be built in the village of Beli Iskar, part of the resort destination Samokov – Borovets. The complex, which will have holiday apartments to rent, lies just below the Rila National Park and on the Samokov-Borovets tourist route.
New ski slopes and facilities are planned to be built in the region that will descend all the way to the village of Beli Iskar. The village is seven km from Samokov and 72km south of Sofia under the towering summit of Musala Mountain, part of the Rila range, the highest mountain in the Balkan peninsula and south-eastern Europe.
The village, surrounded by a breathtaking environment of thick forests, has tremendous tourist potential. However this may not delight environmental activists opposed to further deforestation. Just one kilometre above the village lies the Rila National Park.
The main investor in the project is Artstudio OOD, headed by engineer Atanas Atanassov. The approved project is a brainchild of Arch-Design – M, managed by Andrei Stratiev, and the project is scheduled to start construction in Spring 2009, the consulting company overseeing the process being Multiplex Engineering.
Blue Mountain Aparthouse has a total area of 1700 sq m, on a steel hill with a view to the east. The condominium's design is meant to be modern, practical and in harmony with the mountain and surrounding nature, according to Atanas Atanassov, reported by Stroitelstvo Gradut.
Resort apartments are between 70 and 70 sq m. The building will be equipped with four large storage areas as well as a ground floor designated for shops.
The most important asset of the condominium, however, according to its designers from Arch-Design, is its private, concealed atmosphere and its proximity to the Rila National Park. The eco-route and the international European tourist route is also close to Beli Iskar, making the place ideal for those attracted to mountain climbing, hiking, skiing and snowboarding.

Source: sofiaecho.com

The "Bulgaria Today - Realty, Tourism, Wine" business fair official opening was held Friday in the Russian capital Moscow, announced the press office of the Bulgarian company "Glavbolgarstroy".
The business fair will continue from February 5 to February 7, 2009, in Central Exhibition Hall "Manej" in Moscow as a part of the official opening of "The Year of Bulgaria" in Russia.
After the opening press conference, whose topic was the development of Bulgarian economy, Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov and Moscow's Mayor Yury Luzhkov visited the stand of the Bulgarian construction company Glavbolgarstroy, where they met with its CEO Simeon Peshov.
Some other distinguished guests of the the fair were the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Ivaylo Kalfin and the Deputy PM of the Russian Federation Sergei Sobyanin.
During the exhibition Glavbolgarstroy will show three of its real estate projects - "Saint Toma", "Borovets Gardens" and "Belchin Park". The resort "Saint Toma" was awarded "Resort of the Year" and "Building of the Year" prizes in the Building of the Year 2008 competition, and also won "Number One Resort on the Balkans" award.
Glavbolgarstroy is the biggest construction company in Bulgaria with more than 40 years of experience in and outside Bulgaria, specialized in civil and industrial engineering.

Source: Sofia News Agency