Property prices in Varna lead the way

€2.5bn Istanbul-Ankara railway planned

New ski complex to be built in Bulgaria

Median selling time rises in parts of Australia

Foreigners may face curbs in second-hand housing market

Kelowna house prices move ahead of Calgary, Toronto

Over $1bn invested in Moscow hotels since 2004

Property prices in Varna lead the way

Residential property prices in Bulgaria are now most expensive in the Varna region, according to Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute.

The report reveals that at the end of the third quarter of this year, average property prices in the region cost £462sqm.

€2.5bn Istanbul-Ankara railway planned

Turkish State Railways is hoping to construct a high-speed railway line along the Istanbul-Ankara corridor. The project aims to significantly improve the rail connection between the country’s two largest cities by cutting the travel time from around eight hours to just three hours.

The scheme is under appraisal at the European Investment Bank (EIB), and if approved the EIB will finance €650-850m towards the railway. The total cost is approximately €2.5bn. A decision is expected before the end of this year.

New ski complex to be built in Bulgaria

The InvestBulgaria Agency has approved a project for the construction of a ski complex in the Pirin Mountain town of Dobrinishte.

Dobrinishte Ski received a first-class investor certificate on 26 October. Once a company receives such a certificate it is entitled to apply for state aid for the construction of some infrastructure that will be needed for the project.

The ski resort would be located in the area between Bezbog Peak and Dobrinishte. It is also located close to Bansko. Over the next three years it is estimated that the company would need to invest over €130m in the project.

Apart from ski infrastructure, the project envisions the construction of several hotels with the capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 tourists. Spa opportunities in the region would also make the resort an attractive destination all year-round.

The construction of Dobrinishte Ski resort is expected to create 1,500 new work places, with a further 1,000 people needed for the proper functioning of the ski facilities.

Median selling time rises in parts of Australia

The time it takes to sell a home in Melbourne has risen to 94 days, the highest figure ever recorded for Melbourne by Australian Property Monitors (APM) since it began tracking selling times in 2001.

With a static housing market and the possibility that Australian interest rates may soon rise, APM forecasts Melbourne house prices could fall 5-10 per cent in the next year if there is more than a 1% interest rate rise.

In Sydney, residential property prices have been averaging over 100 days on the market for the past year, while in Perth, it took only 36 days to sell the average home during September, according to APM.

Foreigners may face curbs in second-hand housing market

The central government's restrictions on foreigners buying property in China, issued in July may now be followed up with further regulations, this time on China's second-hand residential property market.

Many property agencies, insiders and experts believe a policy on second-hand housing will be drawn up shortly, because July's policy shift has already pointed potential overseas house buyers towards the second-hand market.

Luo Yu Xinyitian real estate agent in Bejing says: "Foreigners' enthusiasm for property (in Chinese cities) is mainly stimulated by the huge appreciation potential and the high-end second-hand market is regarded as another way for them to generate profit in the future."

Kelowna house prices move ahead of Calgary, Toronto

Residential property prices in the small city of Kelowna are now the second most expensive in Canada, behind Vancouver, according to a new report.

A ReMax Canada survey reveals that average residential property prices in the Okanagan city have jumped to £198,000 this year, up from $166,000 in 2005, moving ahead of Victoria, Toronto and Calgary.

The average house price in Vancouver is $503,000.

Over $1bn invested in Moscow hotels since 2004

Experts estimate that over $1bn, (through hotel developments and transactions), has been invested into the Moscow hotel market in the last 2 years, indicating clear evidence that international and domestic investor interest is intensifying, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. Other Russian cities are also starting to attract similar attention as investors are looking at new emerging hotel markets outside the capital.

Mark Wynne-Smith, European CEO at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said: “ Russia is achieving outstanding economic growth and its annual GDP figure is growing at an average rate of 6.4%. This is driving both foreign and domestic investors to gain a foothold in the market. FDI into the country topped $18 billion last year so we are seeing that investors are seriously looking at the market and the hotel sector is reaping the rewards.”

He concluded: “Evidence of the appetite for hotel assets has been demonstrated in a number of ways over the last 18 months – investment firms have announced their intention to create funds for investment in the Russian hotel industry, such as the ‘Hotel Real Estate’ fund by Finam investment holding. Further evidence includes - European real estate lending institutions offering greater lending facilities for Russian hotel investments with strong support from their Russian counterparts. As a result, there have already been some high profile hotel deals.”