The Momentum Is Building In Bulgaria

- as it continues to make improvements to basic infrastructure in preparation for EU accession.

For property investment in Bulgaria to take off, it is absolutely paramount that progress is made in terms of accessibility. Currently, the potential of property investment throughout Bulgaria is quite discernibly stunted by the fact that it is still much easier to fly to rival destinations including France, Spain and Cyprus.

According to the Sophia Echo, however, this is beginning to change, with a Norwegian low-cost air carrier beginning flights from Oslo to the Bulgarian Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas from May this year.

Air Shuttle AS will become one of only a handful of companies to offer such a service, but it is likely to pave the way for many more. As his been observed on numerous occasions in recent months, tourism is central to the property market in Bulgaria in terms of the growth of the economy and the influx of foreign investors drawn back to the country following holidays.

Before Norway, the only countries offering low-cost flights to Bulgaria were Hungary and Slovakia, which perhaps gives an indication of the amount of work that has to be done before Bulgaria can fully compete with other markets across Europe.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Bulgaria are preparing to debate legislation on Black Sea coastal regulation which prevents excessive construction in the area. While this may initially seem like a hindrance to property investment, the idea is to prevent supply outweighing demand and to maintain some of the natural beauty that attracts people to the area in the first place.

Concurrently, however, the Sophia Echo reports that after mayor Kiril Yordanov stopped all construction work and banned access to construction sites, investors who would have pumped money into projects around Varna instead looked to the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Regulations on construction will need to be watched carefully in the coming months, although rising property prices across the country mean that investors are unlikely to be put off. Some areas have seen annual property price increases of around 70 per cent and as momentum builds towards EU accession, this is likely to escalate.

The ski resorts in Bulgaria are proving equally popular and construction is certainly not subject to rigorous restrictions in these areas. Commercial property investment in Bansko has been especially busy in the last 12 months, while the particular charms of the Bulgarian ski scene are being recognised throughout Europe.

The Sofia News Agency reports that the Cotidianul newspaper in Romania has published an article based on the fact that a ski holiday in one of Bulgaria's resorts provides a "pleasant surprise", with three-star hotels costing as little as €17 per night.

With a great deal of work still to be done, many investors are taking advantage of extraordinarily cheap prices in the hope that future developments will lead to a property boom comparable to that seen in Spain.bestbgproperties.com