Bulgaria 's National Assembly has voted unanimously in favour of the agreement between Bulgaria and Romania for the construction of Danube Bridge II, which will connect Bulgaria's city of Vidin and Romanian Calafat. The project is worth around €236m.
The Bridge will be built across the Danube River and will form part of the European corridor IV.
The agreement for the construction will be signed 30 January 2007.
Sofia brings new meaning to ‘buyer beware’
While few will doubt that there are great returns to be had in the new EU capital Sofia, in Bulgaria, property investors should consider that murders in broad daylight, shootings, car and apartment explosions have become commonplace in the city, according to the Bulgarian Associated Press (AP).
More than 100 public murders have been committed in broad daylight over the past five years, in Sofia alone. This equates to almost two murders per month. More worrying for some might be the fact that not a single murderer has been sentenced so far. The EU has criticised Bulgaria's inability to cope with organised crime and corruption.
Bomb explosions in front of cars and apartments are regarded as a last warning and usually precede public murders the AP said.
PIN suggests property investors choose their tenants in Sofia very carefully!
Polish property prices expected to increase 10-15% in 2007
The dynamic growth trend on the prime Polish property market is expected to continue this year, with an annual price increase of 10-15%, according to Polish real estate advisor Tomasz Bleszynski.
Interest in Polish apartments is reported to be growing amongst foreign investors from Eastern Europe and Asia, says Błeszyński. However, prices are expected to stabilize in the second half of 2007.
The secondary market is also expected to see dynamic growth, with prices increasing by 15-20% as a ripple effect from the primary market. Used apartments are generally being bought by young people with mid-range incomes or for students by their parents, who perceive this as a better investment than renting a flat.
"The most popular flats will be, as in the past few years, well-located apartments in well-kept buildings, mainly with two or three-rooms", says Błeszyński.
Almost 25% of ‘City bonus workers’ to buy property in France or Italy
Property in France, Italy and the US is topping the shopping lists of City bankers this bonus season, with many putting down large deposits to reserve second homes without even bothering to view the house.
About 51% of the City’s bonus-earning workforce plan to buy property abroad in 2007, a poll by Populus for the property agency Pure International has found. Favouring established destinations, 28% of respondents looking to buy abroad put France top of their list, 23% chose the US, 21% went for Italy, 19% preferred Spain and 18% opted for Switzerland. The respondents, with an average salary of £331,000, are set to draw average bonuses of £294,000.
Sean Collins, of Pure, said: “We have sold out a development of 77 units in Switzerland with an average price of £750,000. Many of the buyers were City based and reserved speculatively without even visiting.”
South Europeans least likely to emigrate
Greek workers are the least geographically mobile in the EU, according to new research commissioned by the European Commission. The poll questioned 24,750 people across the EU (excluding Bulgaria and Romania) and the results showed that 83% of Greek workers have never considered living in another EU member state and only 7% of them had ever thought about finding a job abroad.
This attitude (of never having considered working in another member state) was shared by other southern European nations like Spain (82%), Cyprus (80%), and Malta (79%).
Workers in Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia and Poland (four of the countries that joined the EU in May 2004) are the most willing to move abroad for work.
Today, only about 1.5% of Europeans work in a member state other than their own, which is roughly the same percentage as 30 years ago.
Working abroad, according to the research findings, is the most frequent incentive for thinking about living in another EU member state. Around 27% of respondents said that they have thought about moving abroad in order to find work, 5% had already done so, while 11% were still in the process of deciding.
“The majority of EU citizens have never considered living in another member state”, says Eurobarometer, which carried out the survey. “What is of interest is the fact that the number that has considered living abroad has increased by 14% since 2002.”
The citizens of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands are the most open to the idea of spending their retirement days in another member state. It's not the same in southern Europe where the majority of Greeks, Portuguese and Spanish say they have never thought about retiring abroad.
On average, the poll questioned around 1,000 people in each of the 25 member states. Survey’s took place door-to-door and in the respondents native language.
Worldwide News
Investors move into Philippine property
Foreign investors are now targeting the Philippine real estate market in what Trent Frankum, general manager at CB Richard Ellis, is describing as “the last destination in Asia.”
However, an ownership cap and a dwindling supply of prime property are believed to be hindering investment. At the moment, the majority of foreign investment is arriving in the form of a real estate investment trust (REIT), with most groups looking to hold assets for 5-10 years before selling them on.
Grade A office space in The Philippines is offering gross yields of 11-12%, which is around two or three times higher than more established, neighbouring countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Prime office vacancy rates have fallen to record lows in Manila as more foreign companies set-up and expand in the Philippines. But rental prices are still around five times cheaper than in most neighbouring Asian countries.
“Before the market crashed in 1997, the office market had a 2% vacancy rate. Now it is even lower, which is great for developers”, said Joey Radovan, vice chair at CB Richard Ellis.
The call centre industry is booming and the number employed in the country doubled in 2006 from about 112,000 in 2005 and Radovan expects further growth of at least 50% this year in the sector.
Frankum said foreign groups were also looking to invest in the residential market, with some looking to buy big blocks of property. “The REITs are here. And when the REITs come in, they bring in lots of cash and they are looking for big investments,” he reportedly said.
Oversupply of flats, not rent cap, will force Dubai yields down
Soaring rent prices have begun to impact on the number of people moving to Dubai, according to recent data. Around 250,000 people moved into the city in 2005 while in 2006 the number is believed to be closer to 130,000.
This slowdown in immigration is coming at a time when a mass of new properties are about to be completed, many of which will be available to rent.
A new study by Shuaa Capital and Colliers International claims that 71,800 new units will be handed over in 2007 and 43,000 in 2008, leading to a supply and demand shortfall that will soften the rental market by up to 25% in some projects.
Most tellingly the new report suggests that only 4,000 new units actually hit the market in 2006. This resulted in further pressure on rents and house prices.
But if Shuaa Capital and Colliers International are right then the impact of new supply on the Dubai real estate market this year will be far more severe than had previously been suggested and could see the city saturated with new apartments well beyond 2009.
The report suggests that even in 2009 there will be some 77,000 high-income units completed in Dubai, while demand is estimated at just 36,000.
Increased demand for Cape Verde flights
In response to strong demand from tourists, and property investors wishing to look at or buy a second home, flight operator teleticket has increased its weekly service to Cape Verde by adding a second flight on Thursdays from Gatwick Airport to the island of Sal.
Launching on 8 February 2007, the second weekly flight adds not only to existing Gatwick weekly Thursday service but also to the weekly Manchester to Sal, flights launched last November.
Neil Chapman managing director of Teleticket, adds: “According to official figures, visitors to the Cape Verde are growing by 22% a year, with over 1m expected annually by 2015. At Teleticket we have received so much interest from people wishing to invest in a second home and therefore needing to fly to Cape Verde that we have created a second weekly direct flight from Gatwick. 2006 saw investment projects worth over $300m approved by the Cape Verde authorities so we expect demand for flights to this destination to continue to grow.”
