Real Estate in Bulgaria

International real estate

In the city of Varna, on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, a four-bedroom villa is for sale for 2.5 million dollars.

This five-year-old villa, located on a hillside in the city of Varna, eastern Bulgaria, has fully glazed walls overlooking the Black Sea on three levels. It has a total area of almost 10,000 square feet and is just a few hundred yards from the coast. It is being sold furnished. The minimalist villa, with cement and steel walls and brick walls painted white and copper, was designed by Bulgarian architect Daniel Georgiev. It has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a separate one-bedroom unit for''s staff quarters with a separate entrance. It also has a 540-square-foot gym and a large grassy terrace on the second floor. The half-acre lot is landscaped with rye grass, bamboo trees and shrubs, and is lined with a paved stone driveway to the two-car garage. Spacious sea-facing sliding glass doors open into an elegant 1,620-square-foot living room with cream carpeting; furnishings include a sofa upholstered in cream and orange fabric and several white wooden cubbies as coffee tables. Furniture designers include Italian companies such as Armani and Rimadesio; the home also has a huge home entertainment center with a ceiling-mounted projector and large screen. The area''The dining table and modern kitchen with tiled flooring, stainless steel worktops and island with sink and cupboards is accessed from the living room. There is also a guest toilet on the first floor, clad in shiny silver tiles and fitted with ceramic bowls and taps from German manufacturer Grohe. In the hallway, the staircase features light boxes with images of flowers; the stair treads are concrete and tile and the handrails are stainless steel. In addition to the game room and grassy terrace, the second floor has an 860-square-foot master bedroom with sea views and awnings over fully glazed windows. A cream-colored double bed by Italian designer Armani sits beneath the ceiling with built-in small lights,''designed to resemble a starry sky. The bed faces the ceiling, which features a flat-panel TV. Black sliding doors open to the bathroom, which has double sinks, an open shower with white tile and rainfall showerhead, and a huge whirlpool tub with sea views. A walk-in closet is also complete. Each of the other three bedrooms on this floor has its own adjoining bathroom. A spiral staircase leads to the fitness room and terrace. The villa has air conditioning, an 80-gallon water heater and underfloor heating system, as well as a camera surveillance system for the premises.

The villa is located in Sveti Nikola, a prestigious neighborhood,''about three miles from the city center, which has bars, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs, as well as cathedrals and Roman ruins.

The small Piccadilly Park shopping center with stores and a supermarket is about one block from the villa, said Kostadin Darakchiev, owner of real estateagency Kosta'\''s Homes. The nearest beach is within walking distance, while the major resort town of Golden Sands, with its eponymous national park, is about 20 minutes away by car. Varna International Airport is also about 20 minutes away.

Housing market in Bulgaria

The housing market is still suffering from the global crisis. Between 2000 and 2008, real estate prices rose by 300 percent, in''particularly in anticipation of the country's accession to the European Union in 2007, said Stanislav Petrov, sales manager at Select Properties Bulgaria, which organizes the agency in the coastal city of Burgas. During that period, especially from 2004 to 2008, British investors largely dominated the real estate market, buying unfinished houses on plans with the hope that prices would rise due to factors such as road construction or annexation, said Kostadin Darakchiev. "The British have become crazy in the Bulgarian market because they thought it would be a second Spain," he said. - 'There seems to have been a real estate boom in Spain in the mid-90s when sun seekers wanted a second home to get away from it. And a lot of people made a lot of money''money on speculation and wanted to do the same in Bulgaria'.

Foreign buyers in Bulgaria

But those buyers disappeared in 2008, leaving many real estate agents empty-handed, said Zhelyazko Georgiev, manager and co-owner of Best Bg Properties Ltd. based in the capital Sofia. - "After 2008, the market underwent a downturn because of the severe financial crisis in the U.K. and Western Europe," Mr. Georgiev said. - "Sales dropped by 80 percent, and many real estate agents could not survive in such conditions. "

Although the market has yet to recover, Russian buyers will now replace British buyers, Mr. Stanislav Petrov said. Real estate prices are about 40 percent lower than at their peak in the third quarter of 2008, when''It is also advisable to use a lawyer as an extra precaution, agents said. - "Lawyers' fees can vary considerably depending on the deal and the lawyer," Georgiev said. - "Standard fees for checking real estate documents and closing a deal are around 200-300 euros. "

Sellers usually pay the real estate agent's commission, which usually ranges from 3 to 10 percent, agents said. The buyer pays a notary to process the sale, stamp duty and municipal property tax, which are usually about 4.5 percent of the sale price of the house, Georgiev said.

Most foreign buyers pay in cash, but there is also the possibility of getting a mortgage on