Street is under pressure

High-street rents in Plovdiv and Varna are almost leveled. Compared to the beginning of the year when in Plovdiv's main shopping area they reached EUR 100 per sq m and in Varna the most expensive central shops were rented for up to EUR 150 per sq m per month towards the end of November prices have retreated by 20-30%, according to a survey of supply.
The reasons behind this could be both the quality and characteristics of the premises offered last month and the fact that retailers find much more opportunities in the shopping centers under construction or in the pipeline. A shop of 54 sq m with front on Plovdiv's main retail street is let for EUR 83 per sq m monthly rent, currently the highest price for the area. In Varna, the rates in the very center touch EUR 77 per sq m per month while in Burgas they are somewhat below. EUR 60 per sq m per month would rent 20 sq m on the main street near Troykata Square.
In Sofia, on Vitosha Blvd. where rents have started to retreat under the pressure of shopping malls - from EUR 200 per sq m in 2006 to EUR 150 last year - EUR 120 a sq m is the highest level landlords try.
In shopping centers the nominal rental rates has been kept but the average ones are declining in real terms as new projects of larger scale offer larger single areas of units allowing tenants to negotiate lower prices per sq m.
Nearly 136,000 sq m of shopping center space is currently operating in four cities in the country: Sofia, Varna, Stara Zagora and Veliko Tarnovo (other researches mention also Plovdiv), showed a research of property consultants Forton International. But the future is promising with 650,000 sq m under construction and around 100,000 sq m at project phase provided that the aftermaths of the credit crisis don't squeeze developers too much.
The sales levels in the center of the capital reach utmost price of EUR 26,000 a square meter. At Patriarh Evtimii Blvd. a shop of 40 sq m commands EUR 20,454 per sq m while at Graf Ignatiev St. EUR 26,316 per sq m have been asked for 76-sq-m premises.
The lowest levels in the center of Sofia are around EUR 3,000 per sq m. Retail space used as a pharmacy in the center, covering some 36 sq m, could be bought for EUR 3,600 per sq m.
In the center of Varna the top quoted price for shopping space was EUR 15,000 per sq m for unit in a business center under construction.