Some property prices in Bulgarian resorts could frankly make you give up the planned purchase of a car for an apartment, which might not have a sea view, but at least would give you a chance to enjoy the proximity of the beach and the nightlife during the season. As you go through the offers for real estate sales, you might even think some developers have announced summer bargain-sales but that definitely does not refer to everyone. A new, fully equipped and furnished studio in the center of Obzor, the small resort town located in the middle between Burgas and Varna, costs slightly more than EUR 17,000. Although the price of EUR 776 per sq m is not the lowest in the country, it still ranks in the low price end. And Obzor doesn't give way to other large resorts on the Bulgarian sea coast in terms of the offer of tourist services and holiday properties with a hotel of Spanish operator Sol Melia and a residential development with the participation Philippe Starck, the design guru. One offer solely, however, is not indicative of the state of the market. It rather belongs to the group of exceptions. Still, for not that much more, or EUR 20,300 for example, a 36 sq m studio close to Sinemorets, could be found. But most of the similar offers involve less attractive properties with poorer locations and exposures - these often lie in out-of-town or remote locations and are usually situated on ground floors or in old residential complexes. Although now developers find it harder to sell as successfully as they used to two years ago, in fact real estate prices remain relatively high. Already built residences that have entered the secondary market also maintain stable asking price levels. One of the few still unsold apartments (of a total of 257) of the first stage of a development in Obzor has been offered for EUR 1,350 per sq m. The price, however, is calculated not only on the built-up area for 50 sq m but also on the area of the terraces (30 sq m) and the common areas (14 sq m). Thus the end price of the one-bedroom ground-floor property reaches EUR 126,850. If the square surface had been calculated as an existing urban property, the price would have exceeded EUR 2,000 per sq m, an amount than may startle even the average buyer in Sofia or Varna. The second phase of the scheme, developed by a foreign real estate company, already offers a 127 sq m home priced at EUR 222,900. The property includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a 25-sq m terrace. These are some of the highest prices for new homes on the Black Sea coast. The complex offers to its guests and owners a beach, swimming pools and restaurants, cafes and a SPA center. Other luxury resorts that are now under construction, have similar prices. A one-bedroom 86-sq m apartment (of which 10 sq m are terrace and 17 sq m are common areas) in one of the golf resorts near Kavarna costs EUR 133,858, or almost 1,560 euro per sq m. The buyer also gets as a bonus a 20-years membership at the golf club. Nevertheless, another golf resort in the same area has a one-bedroom apartment covering 88 sq m with views of the course, the forest and the sea on offer for EUR 96,800. But a 67-sq m home located close to the last, 18th hole, of the golf course has been priced at EUR 93,500. Looking at the significant price discrepancies, the market seems to be slightly ill-balanced. Real estate agents and developers are concerned that foreigners’ interest in holiday properties has decreased but, yet, prices have not. A developer has recently said it will strive to maintain price levels of between EUR 1,200 and EUR 2,000 per sq m for a project by the village of Lozenets, in the Municipality of Tsarevo, with construction yet to start. Thus, either the bargain-sales on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are ostensible or they concern only properties that have never had clients or have been obviously overpriced.
