The Hometrack September survey of the national housing market reports a further fall of -0.1% in the average house price for the UK. House prices have now been falling for 15 consecutive months. The national average house price now stands at ?160,900, down from a peak of ?167,700 in June 2004 and down over 3.7% in the past 12 months.

Despite the number of buyers registering with estate agents remaining static this month (-0.5% change in August’s survey), activity has increased by 5.5% (4.1% in August’s survey). As more transactions are occurring in the market, this suggests that buyer confidence is improving. However, while the number of buyers registered has increased by over 20% since the beginning o...

Investment from real estate deals is expected to reach one billion euro by the end of 2005, according to research by Bulgaria's Elta Consult real estate services . By the middle of August the sale of office, trade and industrial property had accumulated 120 million euro, Elta Consult's managing director Valeri Iliev said. About 25 per cent of all investment in Bulgaria was in the property sphere, Iliev said. Interest is currently highest in the acquisition of office and trade property, but more investors are interested in construction plots, which permit the development of different projects. Among the most active buyers are companies from Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Ireland. The Serbia and Montenegro managing dire...

WIDELY represented in Bulgaria, Greek business has been turning to the real estate sector lately, realising the potential for investment in this field in the country.

Bulgarian Internet service provider Bitex, owned by EuroCapital Finance, in early October said it would get involved in real estate transactions and development. Thus, the company surprised analysts who might have doubted that an IT company would take on such a challenge.

Resources for the acquisition of property are being gathered by raising the company’s capital by 20 million leva through selling shares on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia, where Bitex is traded.

EuroCapital Finance holds 87 per cent in Bitex a...

This year is expected to be the most successful yet for real estate sales on the Bulgarian property market. For the first nine months of 2005 208 000 real estate deals were concluded. The number is 196 000 for the entire of 2004. Most real estate agencies experience increased interest toward their offers at the end of the year. Thus, sales are expected to intensify further. If the same transaction rate is maintained, the number of concluded deals will exceed 250 000 in December. More than 100 000 property sales were finalised for the first time in 1996. Unfortunately a period of economic crisis and hyper-inflation followed, which did not allow for a fast recovery of the market. An all-time low occurred in 1998 whe...

The value of homes in the coastal Varna area outpaced the residential market in the capital Sofia in Q2, said the Address Real Estate agency, citing data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute.
The value of homes in the big cities has slowed versus the same period last year when it was rising at twice the current rate, said Address, forecasting a 15% increase in the price of luxe homes for 2006.
Data of real estate agency ADIS shows that the return yielded by residential properties in Bulgaria has fallen by 3% in year to around 8.5%.
ADIS noted the increasing popularity of gated residential communities with at least 30 such developments currently under construction in the Sofia area. Upon com...

IT wasn't because the Hamptons were too flashy or the Catskills too sleepy that Aaron Hicklin ended up in Croatia. Nor was it simply the cachet of owning a vacation home in Europe.

''I didn't want to go somewhere obvious,'' said Mr. Hicklin, 36, the editor in chief of Black Book magazine, who lives in Brooklyn. So instead of a seaside cottage in the south of France, he and his partner, Ilya Marritz, 28, a radio producer, bought a 19th-century stone house last year on the lavender-scented island of Hvar off Dalmatia.

''It's the new European Riviera,'' Mr. Hicklin said. ''There's even a celebrity element here, though that's not why we went. Croatia is still relatively undeveloped. And it's rela...

14:44 - 09 November 2005 - Bulgaria's Parliament approved on first reading the amendments to the Corporate Tax, Sofia news agency rerorts.

Under the new reforms, the social expenses tax will be decreased by 5% to 12% and the tax on expenses for voluntary social and pension funds was also decreased by 5%. The MPs rejected a bill introduced by the United Democratic Forces (UDF) proposing for the profit tax to be reduced from 15% to 10%.

The Parliament also passed at first reading a bill amending the Local Taxes and Fees Act that envisages an increase in estate tax appraisals and tax exemption for estates appraised at less than BGN 1,400.

Tax appraisals should be increased becaus...

Business: 10 November 2005, Thursday.

Bulgaria has the potential to turn into a major golf tourism destination, where seasonal peculiarities give golf players from seven to nine months to enjoy their favourite game, according to a Spanish expert.

Manuel Ferry Sanchez, CEO of Ferry Group, Spain, talked at the RINFOR Real Estate & Investment Forum, which is taking place in Sofia.

Sluggish administration and the parceling out of land are the heaviest difficulties that investors in golf courses face in Bulgaria, Sanchez said during the discussion "Golf tourism - exotic hobby or profitable investment?".

Over the last twenty years golf has gradually gained popularity in Spain,...

The sale of real estate in Bulgaria is expected to double after the government approves the new property tax evaluation. The increase in taxes is expected to be between 20 and 100 per cent. Pleven administrators said that the announcement of tax increases led to large increase in the number of sold property, as well as to higher demand. The number of transactions is expected to double by the end of the year. For the first nine months of the year, a total of 3400 apartments have been sold. Experts predict that by the end of 2005 the number of sales will surpass the one for 2004. During the past year, a total of 4446 apartments were sold. Experts also said that the number of property donations has also increased. Fo...

Detailed information and advice on the most lucrative areas to invest in Bulgaria. Learn how to get around, get a flavor of the language, history, culture and more.

London, United Kingdom (PRWEB) November 2, 2005 -- A new Web site, Bulgarian Property Advice, has only one vital question to ask: Why not be a part of it? Being an owner of an exciting and affordable hot-spot in Bulgaria, that is! And with Bulgarian properties that are in line with any budget, no matter who you are, you’d be hard-pressed not to want to be a part of this offer.

While European destinations like France, Spain or even Portugal are exciting and extravagant, you’ll find yourself waning at the prices of properties in thes...