24 hours Newspaper

23 August 2004

€1000m2 asking price for land on the coast

1000m2 land were sold for 1,560,000 BGN in Sunny Beach.

1000 Euro per square meter was the asking price from the owners of small plots in the center of Varna, brokers announced.

A plot of land of 1000m2 in the most beautiful part of Sunny Beach was sold for €800,000. This is the former dance club “Kaligula”, but the customer will demolish the building which is not valuable. It is not clear yet what would be the purpose of the plot, possibly for building of a hotel or for extension of the neighboring one.

“At the end of the season the investors are going nuts” said the brokers. “The demand is high and the places for sale are few”.

So called summer apartments have increased in value so much as well.

For such kind of front beach line property the price is not less than 1200m2 building area.

There are not many plots and the demand in Sunny Beach and Golden Sands is rising. The plot of the former dance club ”Kaligula” was sold for €800,000. The negotiated price of the property does not surprise anybody in Sunny Beach. Before one month a plot of land located in the Western part of the resort was sold for less than €400m2. Since then, every property in the so called “bedroom zone” (here are located 111 of the hotels in the resort) would be difficult to trade for less then that price-these are broker’s prognoses.

In the inner part of the resort there are a limited number of free plots, some of them are already bought from “Sunny Beach” PLS in the summer of 2002 but still remain not built. The others are in the place of the old buildings after the privatization and demolished.

€1000 m2 was dared to ask the owners of plots in the center of Varna. The heirs of old houses with gardens in the region of the Festival Complex in the summer capital are ready to split their ownership for the record amount. The plots are between 300m2 and 400m2 but for now there is no available customer yet ready to pay €1000m2 land. The current owners are willing to compromise- to get 45% of the future building area for their land. Such offers are just separate cases. The reason is in the location of the property and the maximum building permission on it. As much as the plot permits absolute building on it, the price is more expensive, explained the brokers. Mostly the plots in the center of Varna are selling for €500-€600 m2.

At least 1,000,000 Euro would be the cost of 1000m2 land on the prime line in Golden sands, figure out the brokers who cannot remember when the last time such a property has been offered on the market. The last deals have been done 2-3 years ago for the price of 150m2. That was before the market went crazy this spring and the prices have been increased a few times.

In Golden Sands the prices vary from €200m2 to €300m2 said Dobromir Ganev, Director of National real estate company “Foros”. These properties are not in the borders of the sheer resort between Riviera and the yachting harbor. Geographically Golden Sands includes all the holiday areas on the south up to Sunny Day. According to non confirmed information the owners of two hotels on the front beach- “Lilia” and “Astoria” wish to buy the plots bordering the buildings, most of which are owned by “Golden Sands” PLS. The deal has failed because of the asking price of €600m2. For the unique price of €50m2 were sold not long time ago private plots located before camping “Panorama” in Golden Sands. A prudent investor has paid this amount for few thousand sq. meters of land in the former sliding area. Under the threat to pay for the cleaning of the demolished buildings because of the sliding, the owners joyfully got rid of the plots for €30,000. The state poured out millions to strengthen the slope under thе purifying station. Currently the place has been flattened and on it will start the building of a holiday community complex.

The prices of the apartments are breaking the record.

The prices of the apartments in Golden Sands will break the record as well. On 1^st of October here will start the building of the first residential complex.

Park complex ”Joya” will be near to the police station of Golden Sands /third line in the resort/. Except the residential building the complex will have and a hotel. There will be a swimming pool between the both buildings. The block has to be completed till June next year. It will dispose a kinder garden, restaurants, shops, balneology center, fitness halls, mud baths, sauna, outside parking lot for 18 and inside for 26 cars. The residential building will consist of 60 apartments from 77m2 to 110m2. The price in green vary from €1200m2 to €1350m2. Some of the apartments are already sold. The land for the building of the complex, the former laundry of the resort, has been purchased before the hysteric of the market for ridiculous prices.

In Sunny Beach the cost of the building area is steadily going up. Apartments in the very central part of the resort are offered for €1300m2-1500m2. The beach view increases the price with 100-200 Euros.

Under €1000m2 could be found an apartment only in the western part of the road which divides the resort in two parts. The infrastructure over there is not very well developed.

5867 Levs is the record price paid for 1m2 building area in Sunny Beach. It was reached by auction of “Sunny Beach” PLC for retail units - too alike shops located in the very center of the resort between the hotels”Kuban” and “Globus”.

The bid took place in August 2003 and passed by unexpectedly great interest from most of the big investors in the region, including companies connected with the former VIS and SIC groups.

5-6 hotels are on the counter.

The owners of 5-6 hotel located in Sunny Beach are ready to sell their properties if they find anybody ready to pay a great amount for them, found out “24 hours”.

The properties are not officially announced for sale. The owners prefer discretion about this matter and most likely will rely on direct contacts. In most of the cases the sale is connected with the intention for investment at other places. Hotel”Jasen” is in the ownership of three former directors in Sunny Beach. The rumors are that two of them, disappointed from the crowded resort have bought a plot near Tzarevo with the intention to build a holiday resort over there.

According to other sources, the idea is the hotel to be transformed intо а residential building and the property to be sold afterwards as apartments.

The market of hotels is not that active as the asking price is too high-explained the brokers. The negotiated prices are from 7 to 15 million Euros depending on the size and category of the property.