Bulgarian and Polish market

I am in the real estate business but in Bulgaria. I would like to meet Polish agents and talk about the market in Poland. I am just curious of what's going on with the real estate market in other European countries.

Actually I am the reverse. I am in the UK, have an interest in property in Poland but I am involved with something in Bulgaria about 40 minutes inland from the Black Sea coast. How is the Bulgarian residential market at the moment and are you finding much interest from the East, say Russia ?

Actually that is where most buyers come from- Russia and the former Russian republics. As far as, the rest of Europe is concerned, there is an interest but I have a feeling they are still exploring the market. Potential clients are mostly looking for apartments, very few of them for luxury houses. The interest is concentrated in the big cities and the coast. And the British people are mostly trying to resell their properties now, partly because they were the first major group investing here and they are already looking for a profitable resale and partly due to the real estate crisis in UK.

Hello Ivi,

Just going on from your thread how do you target the Russian market - which exhibitions (if any), which publications (if any) or do you work with a network of Russian agents? OR all of the above. I would be interested in any feedback. This relates to the the up and coming project detailed below, possible of some interest to you.

solasnualtd.com

As far as I know, the Polish market is beginning to peak in the big cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Tricity, Wroclaw and Poznan), you can still find good deals, but only of people desperate to sell. There can still be capital appreciation made in smaller cities like Katowice and Lodz, but these are not very well set up for foreign buyers yet, so it helps to have the help of a trustworthy local.

Lodz is the second largest city in Poland

I think everybody except Michal knows that!

But he illustrates well the parception of Lodz as a "small" and relatively unimportant city, even though it is twice the size of Poznan.

a valid point Sir. I am very impressed with Lodz city hall. they appear to have turned the city round from being declining textile city to modern technology hub. attracting Dell to Lodz was an act of genius on their part. they probably gave them the site though:-)

Hi, Neil! Sorry for I getting back to you just now. For me what works most is real estate expos in Russia. We do work in a network, as well, but expos give you the opportunity for direct contact with potential clients and it is the easiest way to win their interest. Besides the majority of Russians know Bulgaria quite well and they feel comfortable here, they know it well as a destination and the only thing that we have to do is to make them feel secure.

By the way what's going in UK, how do you personally estimate the market?

Hi - UK is not very good at the moment - depending on your position that is. If you own property not so good as it is falling - estimates range from 8% - 20% this coming year, and depending where in the country you buy. This is only bad news if you need to sell, if yo don't need to sell it doesn't really matter if property falls and later recovers. The South of the UK is the strongest place economically and will resist the slow down the most. However this is an economical cycle we are in and property will return, the general feeling is that it may be 18 months - 2 years before property starts to go back up. I will start to look at buying in the UK in about a years time when I feel property would have bottomed out