Developers start thinking of environment

Considering the flat status of the holiday property market and negative effects of overdevelopment of territories such as Sunny Beach some developers have started to show real concern for environment and green areas. Construction of a holiday complex in the village of Lozenets, near Tsarevo, is to start in autumn this year. Apartments are to be sold between EUR 1,200 and 2,000 per sq m. Although the units are expected to have luxury design, environment and greenery will also be high on the agenda. The developer will also pay attention to the existing nature around the site.
In Tsarevo, the most expensive holiday properties have been sold for EUR 2,200 per sq m, a value asked for apartments in a resort currently under construction. During the first half of 2008, the maximum asking levels there used to be around EUR 2,000 per sq m.
Similar prices could also be found on the Southern Black Sea coast, but they applied to properties in already developed resorts. For example, a 90-sq-m apartment in Sozopol, located in a holiday complex near Zlatna Ribka, a camping site, has been on offer for EUR 2,172 per sq m.
Yet, the holiday homes market has not experienced any considerable changes regarding asking prices during the first and second quarters of 2008. The most expensive sea and mountain properties have been priced between EUR 2,500 and EUR 2,800 per sq m, although real estate agents claim there has been considerable decline in the number of sales.
An 88-sq-m apartment in the town of Balchik could be purchased for EUR 2,840 per sq m. The most expensive holiday properties in the town of Obzor have been priced about EUR 1,200 per sq m in the first quarter but the current highest asking prices that have been registered reach EUR 1,800 per sq m.
Real estate prices in resorts like Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sts. Konstantin and Elena and Elenite have barely moved during the period.
Asking prices on the southern coast have also retained their levels, for example in places like Sozopol, Ahtopol and Primorsko. There has been a slight drop in the prices of properties in Chernomorets, near Sozopol where the most expensive units fell down from EUR 1,960 per sq m in the beginning of 2008 to EUR 1,440 per sq m. The latter value refers to new apartments, part of a resort development in the Akladi area, located close to the beach.