Property for sale in all regions of Bulgaria
Property for
sale in Bulgaria News
News 17 April 2006
Golf in Bulgaria - luring the buyers.
In 15 years time there will be 40 golf courses in Bulgaria - on the Black
Sea coast, around Sofia, Elena, Gabrovo,
Trun, and Miroviane. There will be new houses and apartments built around
the new courses, which will serve as a “carrot” for buyers.
Manuel Ferry Sanches, president of Spain’s Ferry Group, signed a contract
with Sofia municipality, confirming his company’s plan to invest 150
million euro in the next three years in the Kuttina golf resort project,
which will include a multifunctional modern golf centre, commercial centre,
and recreation area with a sports centre including swimming pools and tennis
courts.
Sport Center Kuttina received a first class investment certificate from
InvestBulgaria Agency in accordance with the Investment Promotion Act.
During the construction phase, there will be about 2000 jobs, and about
700 permanent jobs after the project is completed.
Sanches, who has 20 years experience in the golf industry, said that in
Europe municipal golf courses were common.
He said that golf is not elitist, and is not only a sport - it is a business,
an industry in its own right. He does not agree that the golf course should
be built before the houses; in Spain there is a similar problem with investors
who cannot complete the building of their golf course. Sanches said that
Bulgarian investors should stop waiting for help from the state and for
grants. They should start to act, said Sanches. To him, not only is golf
is a sport, but it also encourages protection of the environment and land
regeneration. Golf additionally supports the property and tourist sector
and is a separate and independent industry. A lot of people live in golf
complexes, yet do not play golf; they live there because of the pleasant
environment, he said.
More than 65 million people in the world play golf. The United States is
the world leader with more than 156 000 golf courses. More than 27 million
Americans play; in both Europe and Canada, about 4.5 million. In Japan the
sport is very popular - there are about 16 million players. In Africa, however,
there are only 58 golf courses. Land and location need to be optimal for
a golf course, and a golf school should be created, in Sanches’s opinion.
He said that golf is not sold through advertising, but by word of mouth.
Golf should be freed from the label of an “elitist sport”. It
is not necessary to be a millionaire to play golf, he said.
Three famous golfers, Gary Player, Ian Woosnam and Jack Nicklaus are currently
involved in designing five golf courses in Bulgaria. These three professional
players are the team captains of Europe, the US and the Rest of the World.
Welshman Woosnam was in Bulgaria on November 1 2005, when building work
was started on two courses he designed - Lighthouse near Balchik
and Pirin, near Bansko
and Razlog.
The golf project near Kavarna, Thracian Cliffs, designed by Player, will
be able to accommodate 3150 people in its hotels and villa complexes. Spa
facilities will also be available. Another golf project, Black Sea Rama,
near Balchik, is also Player’s and will be completed in June 2006.
All the new five will be open for business in 2007-2008, bringing tourism
not only to the golf courses but also the hotels, spa, villas and apartments
in the surrounding areas. The value of this project is about 70 million
euro. Woosnam’s Pirin and Lighthouse projects are both valued at about
118 million euro.
Lilyan Todorov, the chairman of Air Sofia which owns three golf courses,
said that Bulgaria’s golf courses should be located around bigger
towns and resorts. Air Sofia is currently planning to build a golf course
about 10km from Sofia. There are already foreign residents in Ihtiman, who
have bought property near to the existing golf course.
One of the projects between Balchik and Kavarna is managed by Swedish people.
Golf is a widely-enjoyed sport among many people in Sweden, which boasts
half a million golfers. Furthermore, it is not expensive to be member of
a club here in Bulgaria, according to the executive in charge of the Cliff
Golf project. The summer season on the Black sea coast, in his opinion,
could be extended to eight to nine months through golf tourism. The company
also plans to build a hotel and marina - a full tourist package to suit
every taste. The investors predict that English, Scandinavians and Bulgarians
from Sofia and Varna will come to their complex.
Current golf courses in Bulgaria:
1.Ihtiman, owner Air Sofia 2.Sliven, owner Air Sofia; 3.Ravno Pole, near
Sofia.; Future Golf courses: 1.Balchik - Black Sea Rama, designed by Gary
Player, expected date of completion June 2006; 2.Kavarna - Thracian Cliffs,
designed by Gary Player, expected date 2007-2008; 3.Balchik - Lighthouse,
designed by Ian Woosnam, expected date 2007-2008; 4.Banya and Razlog, near
Bansko Pirin, designed by Ian Woosnam, expected date 2007-2008; 5.Dolna
Banya near Borovets, designed by Jack Nicklaus, expected date - 2007-2008;
6. Kuttina golf resort designed by Manuel Ferry Sanches, expected date 2009.
Image revamp for Bulgarian property investment.
It appears that attempts to ready Bulgaria for EU accession are gaining
momentum, with tourism and property investment at the forefront of much
that is being done.
With the ski season coming to an end, attention is now turning to the stunning
Black Sea regions and the authorities in Bulgaria have been busy working
on measures to maximise the potential of the already popular resorts.
Already, a National Tourism Board has been created, which will meet in May
to discuss ways of uniting large investors, non-governmental organisations
and businesses that provide for tourism, reports the Sofia Echo.
Many of the plans will directly impact upon property investment in Bulgaria,
with analysts frequently observing that a successful tourist industry is
the first step towards a property boom.
"The future National Tourism Board will formulate and seek solutions
to essential problems related to regional development, infrastructure, beach
and airport concessions, promoting new tourist products, developing new
markets, building a network of Bulgarian tourist offices abroad under public-private
partnership schemes, and a bigger budget for advertising Bulgarian tourism
abroad," said the initiators of the new board.
The Sofia Echo has also reported on the most popular property investment
spots in Bulgaria, as seasoned investors begin to familiarise themselves
with the best options for good returns.
The statistics show that 25 per cent of property investors in Bulgaria prefer
to purchase land close to major cities, with most of these investing in
commercial property ventures such as office buildings or trade centres.
A similar percentage of investors prefer agricultural terrains, however,
which is perhaps testament to the diversity of property investment opportunities
available in the country at the moment.
The survey also drew attention to the advantages of investing around Sofia
as well as the Black Sea, while around eleven per cent favoured ski resorts
such as Bansko, Borovets,
and Pamporovo.
In addition to these options, Bulgaria is also gaining a reputation for
golf properties, with the Sofia Echo reporting that there will be 40 courses
in the country in 15 years' time. Bulgaria is often compared to Spain in
the 1980s and its burgeoning status as a golf haven is only likely to strengthen
these comparisons.
It was recently reported that Nick Faldo, winner of the Masters on three
occasions, was investing in property in Bulgaria, while Gary Player, Ian
Woosnam and Jack Nicklaus are all thought to be taking a central role in
the design of several courses in the country.
With the ski resorts improving
each year and the Black Sea regions continuing to draw tourists and investors
alike, the added lure of properties around golf courses would seemingly
add yet another dimension to Bulgaria's growing property appeal.
Easter boom for property purchases.
The property market in the UK is continuing to strengthen, according to
most experts, and it will receive another welcome boost this Easter as buyers
take the opportunity to step up house buying activity.
Because confidence was severely dented in 2005 when some pundits were speculating
about the possibility of a crash, it has inevitably taken a while for the
market to return to form.
The cut to interest rates in August was clearly instrumental in instigating
this transformation and analysts have since been observing a steady improvement
as house prices have climbed across the UK.
Property investment has again been attracting huge amounts of attention,
while A-Day added extra impetus with the hugely popular changes to self-invested
personal pensions (Sipps).
While Nationwide's Quarterly Regional Review recently reported on the fastest
quarterly house price increase since the middle of 2004, there have still
been some doubts as to whether the growth will continue, but haart estate
agents is expecting substantial interest in the coming days and weeks that
suggests the market is ready to kick on again.
Part of the Spicerhaart group, the largest independent network of agents
in the UK, haart has reported a 32 per cent increase in appointments booked
over the Easter break compared to last year.
"We are expecting an incredibly busy weekend this Easter," said
Paul Smith, chief executive of haart.
"On top of the highest level of property viewings booked for a weekend
so far this year, we are expecting many more potential buyers through the
door as the weekend progresses."
Aside from this, however, haart has already observed an extremely impressive
start to the year, with sales transactions up by 52 per cent from the same
period last year. It is clearly good news for investors looking to sell
on properties for a profit, with demand again high and confidence continuing
to rise.
"The housing market is very buoyant at the moment, as confidence has
returned, under the backdrop of continued household growth and a stable
interest rate outlook," added Mr Smith.
"Transaction levels are well above the level last year and we expect
this level of activity to continue well into the summer months. We believe
that in many areas in the UK, house prices will increase by up to seven
per cent in the first half of the year."
One key observation from haart is that buyers remain price sensitive and
that they are rarely prepared to pay over the odds, which is seemingly a
hangover from the confidence slump last year.
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