16 February 2010 | The market for vacation properties is starting to stir in Bansko, where real estate prices fell by more than a half in a year, but remains at a standstill in Bulgaria’s other main winter resorts of Borovets and Pamporovo, where there are no buyers.

The main reason for the interest in Bansko is that, as the country’s largest and most modern resort, is that it is more popular than the other two, the Dnevnik newspaper pointed out in a recent publication that cited the newspaper’s survey among real estate agencies.

Other factors that Benefit Bansko is that it hosts competitions for the World and European Cups in Alpine skiing, as well as its efforts to become a jazz destination in the summer, the publication noted.

The price of apartments in Bansko fell by nearly 50 per cent in over a year, according to the Bulgarian Properties real estate company.

This year, the average value of the real estate deals made in Bankso is between 650 and 700 euro per square metre, Polina Stoykova, oprations manager of Bulgarian Properties told the publication. In comparison, property prices in Bansko ranged between 1,200 and 1,600 euro per square metre at the beginning of 2009.

In Pamporovo, property prices range between 500 euro per square metre for unfurnished apartments to 1,000 euro per square metre for luxurious home, but – according to Stoykova, there are hardly any sales being realised.

In Borovets – Bulgaria’s third main winter resort, prices have not dropped from their pre-crisis levels and offers range between 1,200 and 1,500 euro per square metre but hardly any real estate deals get realised. Brokers explain the high real estate prices in Borovets with the resort’s proximity to the capital Sofia.

According to the publication, Russians and Russian-speakers are the main buyers of real estate at Bulgaria’s winter resorts. Before the recent Greek farmers’ blockade of the border with Bulgaria, there was also a high interest on the part of buyers from Greece. Some buyers expect an increased interest from Macedonia and Serbia towards the end of the year, because of the recent elimination of the visa requirements for the two countries’ citizens.

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