Location
| Europe and Bulgaria |
 |
 |
 |
|
Bulgaria is often called the pearl in the crown of the Balkan peninsula. This relatively small country in South Eastern Europe with a territory, slightly bigger that Ireland, is a colourful composition of an incredible nature, a traditional country culture and a very long history.   The bigger part of Bulgaria’s territory consists of high mountains, green valleys and a 378 km long coast on the Black Sea with a lot of sunny and fine beaches. The Rila and Pirin mountains have snow peaks that are often compared with the Alps, the Rhodopa mountain’s hallmark are the round evergreen hills and slopes, and the Strandzha mountain has a lot of nature reserves with plenty of rear plant and animal species. Altogether, Bulgaria offers excellent prerequisites and opportunities for traditional and eco-tourism, which has lead the country to the Europe’s favorite holiday and most recently investment destinations. There are a lot of mineral water sources in Bulgaria, some of which have their origins in the ancient Thracian times, such as Augusta, Serdika und Pautalia, where now operate fine Spa and wellness resorts. Bulgaria was established as a country in the year 681 in the European border regions to the Orient, which predetermined a long and eventful history. The ancient primary population of Bulgaria were the Thracian tribes, from which the history remembers the ancient heroes Spartacus and Orpheus, who used to live in the area of the southern Rhodopa mountains, current Greece. They were immortalised in the poems of the famous Greek writer Omir in his Iliada and Odisea.   Bulgaria has been a European Union member since January 2007 and stands for one of the countries with the lows taxes in Europe. This is clearly reflected in the economic development of the country which has displayed strong positive trends in the last couple of years with a minimal impact of the worldwide financial crisis due to the high momentum gained after joining the EU. A lot of foreign investors have quickly recognized the convenient business opportunities offered by the country’s economy and started to expand their businesses towards Bulgaria, especially in one of the fastest growing sectors – the property industry. This is proven by the vast increasing volume of international investors in the properties sector, where investors have gained double digit rate of return p.a. in the last years. Recent ratings and analysis of some leading London financial experts claim a very low impact of the financial crisis in some emerging markets like Bulgaria. This fact is a result of not yet reached industry break even point due to the short time passed from beginning of the EU membership when the economy take off started. The main advantages of the Bulgarian property market can be summarized as follows: • Stabile political and economical situation • Reliable bank and credit system • Fast developing properties sector with a continuous turnover and profit growth • Relatively small impact of the financial crisis especially over the premium segment due to market demand exceeding the supply and not reached break even point • High investment return potentials • Stabile currency and very low risk due to currency board with the Euro • Investor-friendly legislation, especially within the properties sector.
  |