Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

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According to Assetz, the property advisory company, new build prices were down 10% year-on-year last month and can continue to fall. According to data from BuySell Cyprus, prices in Cyprus actually fell by 0.8% in September, following a six month rally that had increased prices by 8.9%. According to the authoritative National Association of Realtors, prices in July were up only 0.9% on the same time last year, with actual falls in a number of states. After all, prices are still up a very respectable 9.4% on the year and average prices CYP 92,459 (£109,908). All this has been reflected in property prices on the island which have been rising at a fair clip. Also next month, Cape Verde-based TAVC Airlines is due to start an alternative route between Birmingham and the capital Praia on Santiago island. Although things have been stable in Thailand since the 1990s, the country does have a long history of coups and things, at least at the time of writing this blog, have been peaceful so far. Amateur investors, in particular, are driven by the desire to holiday in their overseas property once or twice a year, and therefore focus on holiday destinations which they might ultimately chose to retire to, says Stuart Law, the managing director. And all that is only those who are officially resident. And then there is the other small matter of the parlous state of the US property market, which, after several years of boom, appears not to be heading for the much vaunted soft landing, but instead to be going into reverse. And when they want to know more, where better to look than the web? And, amazingly, prices there are still going up, even though the average property there costs more than 500,000 euros (more than double the national Spanish average of 240,000 euros) and apartments in some of the trendiest parts of town are already as expensive as in London. Another one I should mention is Buy Association, which produces a weekly 40 minute show which so far is available online and, in the future, may also be syndicated on radio. Anyone out there been to Jaen or, better still, bought property there? Apparently, not: the North African kingdom is also being billed as the next hot (or should that be cool) skiing destination. Apparently, some 47,000 of us registered as new residents at town halls in the country last year, taking the total to 274,000 - the same number as the entire population of Leicester. As I have mentioned before in this blog, the atmosphere for foreign investors in the country has been worsening sharply in recent months. As many as 750,000 Brits are believed to spend at least part of the year there - more than double the number of Germans. Assetz, a company offering a variety of different foreign property investments, has sent out a press release warning that British buyers are missing a trick by focusing largely on homes that can be let out for holidays rather than those aimed at the locals. Assetz, for one, believes the market still has further to fall. At £4,750 a square metre, the flats are more expensive than anything else that I have come across in the former Communist world (with the notable exception of Moscow). Author: "Peter Conradi" Boom and bust in Beirut Date: Saturday, 15 Jul 2006 13:50Talk about bad timing. Author: "Peter Conradi" Bulgaria beware? Author: "Peter Conradi" Cape Verde to take off? Author: "Peter Conradi" China walls (part 2) Date: Tuesday, 25 Jul 2006 22:10It is a brave foreigner still ready to invest in property in China. Author: "Peter Conradi" Cyprus faltering? Author: "Peter Conradi" Holiday Rentals Date: Thursday, 17 Aug 2006 22:44Well, the holidays are over and I'm back in harness again. Author: "Peter Conradi" Of property blogs and podcasts Date: Wednesday, 06 Sep 2006 23:59There is no doubting the growing importance of the internet to the foreign property market. Author: "Peter Conradi" Of property blogs and podcasts (part 2) Date: Saturday, 09 Sep 2006 00:21I have been impressed by the response so far to my request for tips on good property weblogs and podcasts out there. Author: "Peter Conradi" Onward and upward in Poland Date: Saturday, 18 Nov 2006 18:05Thought Eastern Europe was only about cheap and cheerful property? Author: "Peter Conradi" Spain on a shoestring Date: Saturday, 16 Sep 2006 16:37Ask anyone who knows anything about Spanish property where the most expensive place to buy is and they will immediately say Barcelona. Author: "Peter Conradi" Stop thinking about holidays Date: Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006 00:21So much for holidays. Author: "Peter Conradi" The gains in Spain Date: Thursday, 27 Jul 2006 23:06I was interested to see the number of Britons living in Spain is hitting new highs. Author: "Peter Conradi" Thought Morocco was just sun, sand and souks? Author: "Peter Conradi" When the American housing market sneezes... Better still, it seems you can still pick up a small house in need of renovation in Alcala la Real, a mere 25 minute drive from Granada, for under £20,000. But on November 2, Astraus Airlines is due to start weekly flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Sal island. Colliers CRE, the international property agents, are marketing a development called Domaine de L'Akhdar, which lies between Marrakech and the resort of Oukaimeden, in the Atlas mountains. Despite all the hype about Bulgaria, Dubai and other such destinations, Spain still tops all the surveys of where Britons want to buy - and by a long margin. Difficult to tell, although it must be encouraging that so many locals appear to have bought in the project and it is not just being sold to foreigners. Either way, Poland is certainly an attractive place to buy property: don't be fooled by the large number of Poles... Given that this time last year prices were growing at well in double figures, that's undoubtedly a substantial slowdown. However, with the time taken to manage the holiday bookings and the hassle of arranging changeover/cleans between holiday let clients, it will make sense financially to consider spearating the investment from any intentions for personal use and seek local let property.... I am keen to keep the debate going, though, so if you have any experience, either good or bad, please let me know.... I am still getting used to life behind a desk in East London rather than on a beach, but you can still dream - which I suppose overseas property is all about, anyway. I rent out my own flat in Croatia, which I have written about before in this blog, through them, and have been impressed by the response I have received). I took part in their first show a few weeks ago along with the charming Amanda Lamb of A Place in the Sun fame and was back there this week in discussion with Robert Jenkin, head of Bulgarian Dreams, one of the biggest of the many companies now selling property in that country. I'm not sure if it's still going ahead, but I will be interested to hear her try to shrug off the Israeli bombing raids as a little local difficulty.... I'm not sure, but at least it will make a change from Courchevel.... In last week's edition of The Sunday Times we ran a story about the launch of a new 35-storey £81.5m residential skyscraper called La Residence in Beirut, backed by none other than Ivana Trump, the flamboyant property developer. In reality, it was never really seriously in doubt that they will get the green light. In the meantime, though, we certainly seem to have ruffled a few feathers among agents actually settling foreign property, some of whom appear to be just as wary as we are about the sheer scope of building in Bulgaria and see it as bubble certain to burst.... It is also likely to boost tourism, by removing the barriers that have prevented Ryanair, easyJet and the other low cost airlines who have not yet started operations to the countries from doing so.... It is also rather unfortunate timing for a group of British property journalists (not from The Sunday Times, of course) who returned earlier this week from an all expenses tour of the country. It is not clear when the new rules will go into effect.... It is not just because of all that sunshine (300+ days a year, apparently) and the obvious charms (driving on the left, chunky British-style electrical plugs etc) that come from almost 90 years of being run by us. It is still a reminder that in Cyprus, as in other hotspots, prices do not simply go on increasing month in month out for ever, especially where there is a lot of new building going on. Italy and Malta also made it into the top five... It's almost eight weeks since we published the piece, but it is still causing ripples in the industry. It's not especially surprising, at least from the property buying point of view. Ivan herself was due to visit London next week for La Residence's glitzy launch party. Jump in too early and you will be kicking yourself; but wait too long and you can also lose out. Known as Zlota 44, the tower, set in the heart of the city, will rise 192 metres into the sky and contain 251 properties priced at anything from £290,000 for a one bed 62sq m flat to £2.5m for a 371 sq ft penthouse. Last month, I reported in this blog about a series of market cooling measures announced by authorities in Beijing to try and cool things down a bit. Matters are especially sensitive in Shanghai, the country's commercial capital, following the ousting of Chen Liangyu, the party chief, on charges of corruption - some of it allegedly linked to the booming property market.... More than half live in Alicante and Malaga provines, although the numbers in Murcia, in the south-east, are growing fast. Most, of course, will be run by companies merely selling property; but there are others offering more general information as well - and in some cases they are offering more than just simple sites. Now, in a further attempt to curb rampant speculation, they are at it again: Xinhua, the official news agency, announced a series of regulations this week that will make it far more difficult for non-resident foreigners to buy property there. Okay, you may be a couple of hours from the sea and only a little less than from the nearest airport, but the scenery is beautiful and the summer apparently not as hellishly hot as you might imagine. Only time will tell if they are right.... Others, though, clearly seem to object such 'negative publicity' on the grounds it may damage the value of their investments, even though their expected returns remain just that - expected. Overseas investors who do not plan to occupy the properties they buy will only be able to do so by setting up a foreign-funded enterprise in China first. Predictably enough the discussion was dominated by the story, Bulgaria Beware, that The Sunday Times ran in July highlighting some of the more unrealistic promises made by some agents active there. Predictably, enough, perhaps, the World Cup Effect ensured that Germany was the top rentals performer in the first half of this year, although, to the surprise of the doomsayers, Dubai was close behind, with an average number of enquiries double the average for the site. Prices for the three-bed riad-villas start from £225,000. Put 'Cape Verde' and 'Property' into Google and see just how much stuff comes up.... So much of foreign property journalism is articles saying nice things about new developments in faraway places written by journalists flown there at the developers' expense. Strangely, the turmoil in Bangkok is corresponding with upheaval in another 'emerging market' popular with foreign buyers: Hungary.... Take New Homes Blog, which is marrying the (relatively) new phenomenon of podcasts with foreign property.... Tap the word 'property' (or 'real estate') and the name of almost any other country into a search engine and dozens or maybe hundreds of sites will pop up. That old favourite, Tenerife, also remained popular, with a 20% rise in enquiries compared with last year. The challenge, as always, is to know when the bottom has been reached. The companies trying to sell foreign property have been quick to take advantage of this. The developers and estate agents, meanwhile, are piling into the islands in force. The economy is growing quickly, interest rates are low and there are lots of new off-plan developments to buy into with favourable payment plans. The key, apparently, is its height above sea level. The market these days is different: people are often buying in places on the basis of something they have read or heard rather than personal experience. The message to those hoping to invest in the States is hold off, says Stuart Law, the managing director. The most obvious caveat, of course, is what if the dollar hasn't yet reached the bottom? The piece was a balanced one, warning that the potential capital gains come hand in hand with a degree of political instability. The story has certainly provoked interest among those who have property in the country. The various other related indices, such as housing starts, units sold and stock of unsold properties paint an equally gloomy picture.... The website, MyBulgaria.info, which has discussion forums on a number of subjects, has set one up specially to discuss the article. There is further to go before the market stabilises and offers the prime opportunity to investors. There is no doubt that being in the EU - and all the aid and investment that will flow with it - will boost the Bulgarian and Romanian economies, pushing up living standards and property prices. This will not stop developers and estate agents keen to sell flats and houses in the two countries from using impending membership as another reason to talk up the markets there. To add to the attraction, the development also boasts the obligatory golf course. Ultimately, of course, it is all probably likely to blow over. Under normal circumstances, the developer who will have financed the trip will be expecting in return to see positive stories in the various property sections of the national papers over the next few weeks. Under the regulations, which were approved by the State Council, capital requirements for overseas individuals or firms will be raised while it has also been stipulated that they will have to have been in China for at least one year before they can buy property. Until just a few years ago, most people buying overseas will probably do so in a place they knew and, most likely, had already holidayed in. Until now, those travelling to the Atlantic archipelago have had to fly via Amsterdam or Lisbon. Victory is clearly ours in the old battle for towels on deck chairs. Waiting for me in my email index on my return was a survey on the latest trends in the market by Holiday Rentals, a rental site with 18,500 properties on its books. Warsaw is about to boast Europe's highest residential building - with prices to match - thanks to Daniel Liebeskind, the architect known for the WTC Freedom Tower in New York and a host of other projects across the world. What we cann't predict, of course, was what dramatic and imminent form that instability will take with this week's all out assault by the Israeli military on Lebanon. When I last checked, it had reached seven pages! Whether outside investors will be better off putting their money there or spreading it among various other cheaper projects remains to be seen. While more familiar Alpine European resorts will suffer the adverse effects of global warming over the next few years, Oukaimeden, which lies more than 3,250 metres above sea level, will be one of the world's few snow assured resorts, it is claimed. With all this destruction going on it seems trivial, to say the least, to ponder the implications for a real estate market, which until a few days ago, was booming, but it certainly isn't good. Without coming over too self righteous, we at The Sunday Times do not go on such freebies and therefore feel free to adopt a more critical tone, if it is warranted, which does not always go down too well within the industry.... You know the pattern: you visit a particular spot in France, Spain or on the Algarve every year for a few years and get to know and like it so much that, in the end, you decide to want to buy a little part of it. Your dream property may be a bargain at £1=$1.95, but will be an even better one if the American currency sinks to $1.97.