Foreigners Buy EUR 310 M of Bulgarian Real Estate in Q1
29.05.2007
picture: wikipedia.org |
Foreign individuals and companies with foreign shareholders bought real estate worth € 310 million in the first three months of the year, Bulgarian National Bank data shows. The figure is a 63% increase over the same period of last year, when foreign buyers paid € 190 million for real estate in the country. Real estate buys accounted for nearly 40% of all foreign direct investment in January-March, helping offset flagging inflows, according to the BNB figures.
Bulgaria has attracted foreigners for years with its warm climate, seaside and winter resorts and relatively low-priced properties, but interest grew into a boom last year. Foreigners spent a total € 1,13 billion on Bulgarian property in 2006 and are set to spend even more this year, although overconstruction is turning some of them off.
Brits remain the driving force of the boom and paid, as a whole, more than anyone else to buy houses in Bulgaria, focusing on seaside properties and accounting for 16,4% of the total money spent.