Gary Player: "I have never seen anything as good as this golf course"
Golf legend Gary Player arrived to Bulgaria to inspect the Black Sea Rama golf course. The South African professional golfer, who is one of the five persons to have received the golf Grand Slam, is currently working on two projects – the Thracian Cliffs and Black Sea Rama golf courses, at the invitation of Bulgarian Golf Association Chairman Krassimir Gergov. Both complexes are located right next to the Black Sea coast and will cover the highest world standards of 18-hole courses.
"When this course is finished it will be the best in the world. The progress is great and, honestly speaking, in my golf career I have not seen anything as good as this golf course. When people come and see it they will not believe their eyes. I mean it so beautiful, it is in fact the best golf terrain I have ever seen," Gary Player said. According to him there are only 5 golf courses like this in the world which are located directly on the coastline.
The Thracian Cliffs development spans across four kilometers of coastline and covers over 1,400 decares. The investment comes to about 300 million euro and besides the 18-hole golf course the complex will also include luxury villas, hotels and a modern SPA center. The state-of-the-art golf courses which are being constructed in Bulgaria aim at attracting wealthy tourists to the country. Bulgaria promises to become one of the new golf destinations and is expected to be a worthy rival of the already popular golf destinations Spain and Portugal.
Bulgaria Named Fastest Riser on World's Property Market
Property prices in Bulgaria rose faster than anywhere else in the world in 2007, according to a survey by a leading British estate agency.
The European Union's newest member topped the latest Knight Frank Global Price Index with an annualised property price growth of 30.6 %. Bulgaria ranked three percentage points above the south-east Asian economic powerhouse of Singapore.
"Despite numerous concerns over the level of oversupply in a number of locations within Bulgaria - notably the winter ski resort of Bansko and selected coastal resort locations - Bulgaria has supplanted the previously top performing Baltic hotspot at the top of the Knight Frank league," the report declared.
Bulgaria Still Best for Overseas Property Investment
Bulgaria has been named the best destination for overseas property investment, even though its tourist hotspots are showing signs of overheating, according to a new research.
UK ranks as the best for investment returns with Bulgaria second, says the quarterly investment tracker, released by British investment firm Assetz. Making up the rest of the top five are Canada, Cape Verde and Cyprus respectively.
Bulgaria maintains a strong position in the tracker with a total of 71% return on cash invested, but Assetz advised caution to investors, especially in the tourist hotspots such as Sunny Beach and Bansko where there is oversupply of apartments.
However, average prices have increased from 17.3% to 22.5% annually in June 2007, possibly due to a number of 'prestige' developments coming onto the market.
Real Estate Investors Weaned off Russia, Head for Bulgaria
Tight conditions for mortgage loans and high interest rates are making Russia's property market less attractive, pushing investors to Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Montenegro, Russian daily Kommersant reported.
The article describes the local market as heaven for investors, who can expect high returns, an average of 20%-30% annual rise in property prices and low interest rates on mortgage loans.
"Renting out makes it easier to pay off the credits," the article adds.
Russians' interest in Bulgaria's property market is fuelled by the country's good reputation as traditional destination for the summer holidays.
Bulgarian property growth "phenomenal"
The expansion that has taken place in the Bulgarian property market over past years has been described as "phenomenal" by a real estate industry expert.
According to the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP), there has been a distinct change in the nature of the overseas property industry in the past three or four years.
Certain markets, with Bulgarian property being a prime example, have emerged which previously would not have been a consideration for would-be investors.
Paul Owen, chief executive of the AIPP, said: "The interesting thing about Bulgaria is that it's the first of its kind to have come from a market which most Brits hadn't invested in“ to being, according to our research, the third most popular market in the world. Which is phenomenal."
Offering a prediction for the future of Bulgarian property, Mr Owen forecast that the resale market will "kick off".
He pointed out that a number of new properties are being built, prices are going up and a second wave of buyers are now beginning to enter the market.
Bulgaria's growth has taken it from an emerging industry to an almost established one in three years, Mr Owen said. He also pointed out that the label of 'emerging industry' can now be applied to sectors in Poland, Latvia and Montenegro, offering more competition to Bulgaria within its niche market.
Bulgaria Among Top Three EU Countries by Industrial Growth
In May 2008 compared with April 2008, industrial production fell by 1.9% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the European union (EU). In April production grew by 1.0% and 0.3% respectively.
In May 2008 compared with May 2007, industrial production decreased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU.
These data is released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
The Eurostat data shows that Bulgaria registered industrial growth of 3,3% in May compared to April and of 8,6% on an annual base.
Among the Member States for which data are available for May 2008, industrial production fell in eighteen and only rose in Ireland (+13.3%), Bulgaria (+3.3%) and Romania (+0.5%). The most significant falls were registered in Lithuania (-7.5%), the Netherlands (-6.0%), Portugal (-5.7%) and Latvia (-5.6%).
In May 2008 compared with May 2007, production of capital goods increased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU27.
Among the Member States for which data are available for May 2008, industrial production rose in twelve and fell in nine countries. The highest increases were registered in Ireland (+9.2%), Bulgaria (+8.6%) and Denmark (+7.4%), while the most significant decreases were recorded in Latvia (-8.1%), Estonia (-6.7%) and Greece (-6.6%).
