Article published on: 2007-12-27

Not surprisingly, many owners of coastal area farmland properties have seized the window of opportunity afforded to them by the delayed entry into force of the new Black Sea Coastline Development Act to have their plots rezoned for commercial development, a Dnevnik survey found.

The asking sale price for beachfront properties with good infrastructure and zoning approval will jump after the the January 1, 2008 enforcement of the new legislation, said local realtors.

The loophole provision allowing construction to continue on sites undergoing a rezoning procedure will also add to listing prices, said Atanas Raikov from Titan Real Estate.

At the moment, land plots at a distance of 100 m from the shoreline are in demand at 400 euro/sq m. Going forward, they are expected to be fetching up to 600 euro/sq m.

Hundreds of properties in Tsarevo, Nesebar, Obzor and Ravda are being rezoned at the moment.

Some 55 properties in Burgas with a combined area of 36 ha are undergoing rezoning procedures. Informed sources said there is already interest on the part of vacation village developers.

In related news, real estate company ERA announced that apartment complexes in the local Black Sea resorts added around 15% to their value in 2007.

Realtors are confident that property sales to foreign buyers will continue to increase in 2008 despite falling yields which have moderated to 7-9% annually.

The cheapest coastal properties on the northern shoreline are found in area of Kranevo, Biala and Kavarna at around 550 euro/sq m.

At the top end of the market are locations in the area of Evksinovgrad and St Konstantin and Elena with prices at up to 1,700 euro/sq m.

There have also been one-off listings at 3,000 euro/sq m for beachfront properties in the Golden Sands resort.(Dnevnik)