There is no such market

Green peace activists will probably be pleased as they saw something they couldn’t do just happened - construction in resorts has stopped before it had even spread across the last beaches and future ski runs.

The National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria has estimated that in 2008 the total built-up area of buildings with construction permits in the region of Burgas, Blagoevgrad and Dobrich was either a half or one third of its 2007 figures. It is only the city of Varna which has registered a smaller decline - just about 17%.

This is the result of the collapse of the holiday market which relied on low prices to automatically create a plethora of buyers from around Europe. Now that clients have disappeared, many developers are prone to sell their real estate at a very low price. And the few buyers left will barely appreciate the overdeveloped Black Sea coast or ski destinations.

Practically, in all proven second home destinations like Sunny Beach, Bansko, Primorsko, Pomorie, Pamporovo, one can find studios at the price of new medium-class cars. And, still, there’s no one to buy them.

What better a moment could there be to profit from these deals? A two-room 34-sq m unit in the resort of Sunny Beach costs EUR 13,260. This is a special offer in a new complex that advertises residences at just EUR 390 per sq m.

It would be naïve to think that we’ll get the perfect location at that price. Another project in the western parts of Sunny Beach proves that the lower price level is just about EUR 400 per sq m for new builds.

Buyers might get a two-room furnished apartment near Sunny beach at no more than EUR 40,000. Besides, the market is bargain-friendly which is now quite fashionable - starting with the price all the way through the extras like panel floorings and kitchen cupboards.

In Bansko, a two-room 80-sq m apartment with stunning view over the Pirin, Rila and the Rhodope mountains (just five minutes from the ski lift) will cost you EUR 37,600. Fifty meters from the Tanne Hotel, a 64- sq m will cost you even less - just EUR 30,000. Both properties are turn-key completed.

This does not necessarily mean that lovers of extreme ski and extreme spending can’t find proper lodgings. For example, a 101-sq m maisonette can be bought at EUR 158,000. But the issues in the holiday segment are not about prices, but about buyers.