Spanish Zara Lands In Bulgaria 18/03/2008
The Spanish apparel brand Zara has already rented a 1 800 sq m unit in the future Carrefour mall in Sofia, to be located in Tsarigradsko Chausse Blvd. The retail chain will enter the Bulgarian market directly through its Spanish manufacturer Inditex, David Davidov, manager business space in Colliers consultants, said in an interview with Kapital weekly. The mall is expected to open in the second half of 2009. Currently, Zara does not have a store in Bulgaria, but its old collections are sold through the Z Outlet chain of stores in the country. Carrefour mall, sold to Greek private property fund Assos Capital at the weekend, will also host the first store of large Greek chain Electroniki, specialised in electronics, hi tech and electrical appliances. The Greek book and music chain... more

Bulgarians Took Over 2,5 Billion Eur Loans For One Year 06/06/2008
For a period of one year Bulgarians took 5,213 billion BGN (2,5 billion EUR) new loans. This was announced after data of Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The growth in loans (residential, mortgage and consumers) for citizens and households by the end of April 2008 is 56%. The mortgage credits are overtaking the consumer ones, and if three years ago their part was 26,5% from the allocated for citizens and households loans, currently is almost 46%. The annual jump of consumer loans by the end of April this year is more than 52%, and those of firms - over 56%. The mortgage credits in Bulgaria by the end of the spring month are slowly increasing - 61%, compared to the 77% growth last year. more

Newlybuilt Apartments In Varna Cost More Than In Sofia Report 14/03/2008
Newly-built apartments in Varna cost more than in Sofia in 2007, because of the limited supply in the coastal city, Stroitelstvo Gradut weekly reported on March 10. Although Sofia's residential property prices registered a greater increase than those in Varna, 45.7 versus 33.9 per cent, respectively, the average price of new apartments in Sofia was 1043 euro a sq m, compared with 1188 euro a sq m in Varna, data provided by Varna-based Foros real estate agency showed. “The main reason is the lack of large-scale residential complexes that are being developed now in cities like Sofia and Plovdiv,” Dobromir Ganev, Foros agency's managing director said. “There are several gated complexes in the planning stage in Varna, but they won't be delivered soon,” he added, as quoted... more