Deals available from Polish property developers

I wouldn't for three reasons:
1) Unlike Poland the Bulgarian boom has been caused by foreign buyers. I looked at one on the Black Sea and the developer said only 15% had been sold to Bulgarians because they can't afford it and it really was nothing special. The permit system in Poland stops this happening.

2) Apart from Tourism there is not a huge amount going for Bulgaria in the future. Leave mentalitly and red tape out of it, Poland is simply in a better geographical position for business, industry and logistics.

3) From the United Nations:
Dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants
Bulgaria: 471
United Kingdom: 425
Poland: 308

And maybe on an emotional note I think their buggering up the coast line. With planning allowing blocks to be 3 metres apart some of the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria already looks worse than the Spanish 1970s concrete boom!

eleanoroconner,

You are partially incorrect to make sweeping assumptions like this. Although locals account for most of the demand in Poland, foreign influence weighs heavily on the Polish property market. Let's take a look at an excellent article from the "International Herald Tribune" entitled, "Poles watch housing prices soar as western Europeans snap up property in new EU nation", dated September 13, 2006, but very relevant to today's property prices. Here are some snippets:

- "Like many Poles hoping to buy a home, the 30-year-old journalist has resigned herself to painful compromises - having to live in a suburb and commute by car - as soaring housing prices driven partly by foreigners put much of the city's best property off limits to normal working people."

- "House and apartment prices in Warsaw and other leading Polish cities have spiraled upward since the eve of the nation's 2004 entry into the European Union - a boom driven by low interest-rate mortgages, housing shortages and foreign speculators snapping up real estate as investments."

- "The demand is generally driven by local people but there are buyers from Spain, the U.K. and Ireland buying new constructions in bulk - 10, 20 or 30 apartments and sometimes even more," Rutkowski said.

- "The foreign speculators are pushing the bar up for normal buyers," said Andrzej Halesiak, an economic researcher with the BPH Bank who has studied the issue.

I believe you are sock on Eleanor.
The newspaper article is ridiculous.The journalist had unrealistic expectations in the first place.Can you imagine a journalist or any first time buyer in the uk or Ireland whinging because they cannot afford to buy in central London or Dublin without being laughed at.

As for foreign speculators ,and i have made this comment on a previous thread,all the developers that i have either spoken to or have dealt with say the same thing foreigners account for a tiny percentage of their sales and the biggest speculators have been Polish nationals themselves.

I for one will continue buying property in Poland in the immediate future because the rental situation is looking very rosy indeed.

Ranj....you are correct, and are obviously a true developer.........I have bought 7 places in Jelenia Gora and Karpacz...none from developers, all needing remont, all from Polish people. The properties were sold at 40-50% below market value, the cost of remont if I have been careful, is 15% of the final price sold. I intend to hold onto most of the properties and rent them to again Polish tenants at fair rents.....................

I have recently begun to concentrate on ex-community flats in old buildings.....they can buy from the community but can't afford to do the remont, but want the cash......that's where i come in, and i'm sure yourself.

As said, you can now only succeed in this climate if you buy from Poles and sell back to Poles....

ct11,

I've done the same in 2002. The original house was a wooden log cabin type of house, located on top of a mountain with spectacular views, and lots of land surrounding it. I have a wood supply from my forest that will last me a lifetime for heating my house during the cold season, and beautiful trails that zig zag through the forest for walking and relaxing. It's even better than any small 'park'. I still have some minor cosmetic adjustments to make on the exterior, such as placing white colored 'coins' on each corner of the house, and two more doors to double up each entrance. The porch also needs some minor brick work, and then it's all finished! This is the Europe I dreamed of long ago, away from the crowded cities of the USA. A place I can plant my own vegetables, raise horses, go for long walks on my own property, and jog each day in the fresh air. :-)

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Looks beautiful scorpio, and I really like the sounds of walking/jogging on your own property each day. Enjoy it in good health.

BULGARIA is a false market always has been and will be for atleast another 20 years, when i began in the property business I was offered a 30 m2 apartment in Bansko for £12k now its worth £45k, problem is Bansko is a crap ski reosrt and no Bulgarians buy there.

Bulgaria is the biggest property bubble ever and its just about to burst, and then what?

many of the houses in Bulgaria were only sold because the estate agent promised a guaranteed rent for the first two years. rather than offer you a 12,000 Euro discount on an overpriced holiday home, they promised to guarantee the rental at 500 Euros per month for the first two years.

the only problem is that the market rental for many of these homes would be in the region of 150 Euros per month.
a woman at work bought one as an investment, the problem is that she can only sell it through the estate agent she bought it from and they are busy trying to sucker in the next non-Bulgarian buyer to buy off plan because they earn more commission that way.

Sofia is not as bad an area for an investment but as for the mountains and coast forget it.

Thanks markme! Have you ever been to Poland, and if you have, do you visit often? Living here during the past 5+ years has been a big change in lifestyle for me. Instead of waking up 5:00 am each morning to take a bus, ferry, and subway to Manhattan, partaking in the rat race and working in the office each day until 10:00 pm, my lifestyle has been much more relaxing. Simple things such as renovating my barn, collecting old farming antiques that date before the second war, reading and learning about the history of this region, visiting old castle ruins and other monuments on my mountain bike with packback and camera, maintaing the trails and paths in my forests, splitting firewood, taking photos of nature, observing various plant and bird species, are some of the things I enjoy. It beats sitting dressed up with suit and tie behind my pc all day, stressed out with projects and office politics. A big change indeed! :-)

I think society today spends way too much time working until the ripe age of 65 years old, hoping to live long enough to enjoy their pension and retirement. It's wiser to make the move enjoying your dreams a bit earlier, to enjoy the free time that most people never have. Of course, many can't make this move due to family and personal reasons. It's all relative.

Shut up!


Exactly.

Yeah I've been in Poland a little bit, but not out in the countryside that much. Hope to put that right in the years ahead!