Price growth in times of crisis

Sunny beach, St. Vlas and Balchik have the most expensive properties

Whether there is crisis or not the holiday homes market is still bringing surprises. The most recent one is the record-breaking asking price of almost 4,000 euros per sq m for beachfront apartments located in the most overdeveloped and overpopulated resort in Bulgaria - Sunny Beach.
The apartments are completed and furnished as the offers are resales. They are located in a building completed in 2005, in the southernmost part of the resort, in an area with a number of restaurants and bars. Six residences in total are for sale, including two penthouses (of 102 sq m and 119 sq m), which cost 406,200 and 472,680 euros respectively. Outdoor jacuzzies on the terraces are just some of the extras besides the private beach, furniture and internet.
The existence of these offers has further extended price divergences between most expensive and cheapest homes in the resort. So far, maximum asking prices were barely reaching 3,000 euros while the lower end of the market saw asking levels of 600 euros per sq m for properties in the western parts, far away from the beach. Estate agents with experience in the holiday homes market commented some time ago that asking levels of over 2,000 euros per sq m were almost unattainable.
At just the opposite direction of the resort (the northern end) an apartment of slightly over 100 sq m, also located on the very beach, costs 2,100 euros per sq m.
Russians who rushed into buying almost everything created a sort of new optimism on the market in the last six months. Developers backed by these investments continued to raise prices in spite of the fact they had lost their biggest target group - the English and Irish clients. Asking prices in a complex in the resort of St. Vlas exceed 3,000 euros per sq m, including furnishings. A 37-sq m studio costs just over 100,000 euros without the furniture, which adds another 16,000 euro to the price. 16,000 euros is about the same amount that buyers have to pay if they want a car parking space.
Such projects will continue to win St. Vlas the name of the expensive alternative of Sunny Beach and are yet to add to the existing new marina, boutiques and restaurants.
In the North, Balchik, where 84-sq m apartment with sea view is priced at 250,000 euros, has all the potential to rival St. Vlas. It will be facilitated by the first two open golf courses as well as several high-end schemes near Kavarna.
In the end, probably developers in the winter resorts will loose most, after, however, profiting most from selling property to English-speaking buyers. Some of the most expensive properties there have been on the market for months while the average market is yet in the 1,000-1,400 euros per sq m range. But this is actually what makes these homes affordable for the mass client. A 170-sq m unit in Dobrinishte could be bought for 155,000 euros.