3000 Euro Sq M For Shops In New Malls In Sofia

Shops in malls currently under construction are being sold at 3000 euro per sq m, manager of the Bulgarian office of Estonian Arko Vara group, Rauni Tiliso said.

Demand for shopping real estate in Sofia is high. Most wanted are malls and shops in main shopping streets, Za Grada quotes Dnevnik daily.

Shops under construction are 50 per cent up from the end of 2006. At the moment eight to nine malls are under construction in Sofia.

The most expensive shopping street in the capital is Vitosha, where prices have gone up slightly from the beginning of 2007. Maximum monthly rent reached 180 to 200 euro per sq m. Shops have not been offered for sale for the past several years, but sales prices are expected to reach 22 000 euro per sq m.

Monthly rents in other shopping streets in the centre are around 127 euro per sq m, with sales prices varying between 4000 and 8000 euro.

The market is expected to develop the middle segment in shopping complexes for which there was most interest, Tiliso said.

More large-scale complexes will be built in the neighbourhoods in outskirts of Sofia. Part of the investments will be directed at logistic centres, a market segment which has not been developed.

Because of the scale of the investments involved in the construction of a mall, foreign investors will continue to play an important role, Tiliso said.