Investment In A Tworoom Apartment In Sofia Repays In 15 Years 14/03/2008
The purchase of a two-room apartment in Sofia pays off in about 15 years, according to Industry Watch’s calculations for the fourth quarter of 2007. Only three months before, i.e. the third quarter of last year, a similar investment paid off in 13 years and at the end of 2006 the repayment period was 10 to 11 years. Residential sale prices increase at a quicker pace than rentals, so accounting for the slowdown of returns on these investments, the think-tank comments. Rental levels cannot increase faster than the growth of average disposable income, Industry Watch analysts say, and they foresee that it will be one of the propellers for residential sale price correction. Housing will slow down its appreciation rate this year –  not forecast to exceed 15-20 per cent. The slight increase... more

Sofia Sixth Most Attractive Destination For Retail Chain Expansion 10/03/2008
In 2007, Sofia ranked sixth among the 20 most attractive expansion destinations for European retail chains in the next five years, consultancy company Cushman & Wakefield research showed. Sofia had moved two places up since 2006, when it ranked eighth, investor.bg said. Romania’s capital ranks right after Sofia on a seventh position. In 2006, Bucharest was ninth. According to the research, the Central and Eastern European cities were the most preferred destinations for expansion of retail chains. Moscow ranked first, followed by St Petersburg, Prague, Bratislava and Ljubljana. Budapest and Tallinn ranked eighth and ninth. The only Western European city in the top 10 was Amsterdam, which shared the 10th position with Kiev, investor.bg said. The United Arab Emirates and... more

Bulgarian Real Estate Fund Reitsofia Sells Office Premises For 20.9m Euro 10/03/2008
Investment vehicle Bulgarian Real Estate Fund (BREF) REIT-Sofia said on February 5 it sold the open air parking lot and the office premises that are part of the large-scale Kambanite Business Centre project to Navigator Business Centre Ltd The business centre, located along Sofia's ring road, lies opposite of Business Park Sofia is still under construction, but is due to be completed by the end of this year. The office spaces have a gross actual area of 15 809 sq m. The value of the deal is 20.9 million euro, without VAT, BREF said in a statement to the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, where it is listed. BREF has already sold the retail areas of the Kambanite Business Centre, thus completing its exit from the project, which brought it 32.05 million euro in total revenue. Last... more