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Real estate prices in Bulgaria have increased by 20% over the last year, according to London-based Night Frank Estate agents, cited by 24 Hours daily.
Bulgaria ranks second in respect of property prices growth after Latvia, enjoying a 45.3% rise for the said period, the survey showed.

The volume of construction works in Bulgaria will expand by 15% over the next three years, the Bulgarian Building and Construction Chamber Simeon Peshov predicted. The current pace of development of the construction sector is indicative of steady economic growth, Peshov added.

Over the first six months of the year the direct foreign investments in Bulgaria were 1.411 billion euro, sources from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. This is by about 75% more than they were in the same period of the last year. The share of foreign investments in real estates and business services is the biggest - 538.5 million euro.

Sale prices of high street shops under construction in the capital Sofia go as high as 3000 EUR/m2, according to data of local real estate sites.
Offers are abundant in the districts of Lozenets, Student's town and Lyulin, which witness a boom in construction works.

No major spike in property prices is expected after Bulgaria joins the EU on January 1, 2007, said members of the managing board of Bulgaria’s National Real Estate Association.
The price growth for 2007 is seen at 20%, slowing to 15% the year after.
The nation’s EU admission is expected to boost mainly the value of office properties.
On the residential segment, only upscale properties in prime locations will retain pricing momentum.

Three consortia and one Spanish company have filed bids for the design/construction of Danube Bridge II, spanning the river at Vidin-Calafat.
FCC of Spain has pitched the lowest implementation cost - 105.2 mln euro, and is ready to offer a 5% discount.
The highest project cost - 268.2 mln euro, was proposed by the tie-in between France's Vinci and Bulgaria's Glavbolgarstroy and Moststroy.

Local company Densi Stroy plans to build 3 or 4 entertainment and shopping centers styled after the Central Mall in Veliko Tarnovo, Northern Bulgaria, which it also developed, said Marin Zgurev, manager of the construction company.

Scotland is ready to welcome Bulgarian and Romanian job seekers even if Great Britain decides to introduce restrictions for these two countries' workers after they become full members of the Union, The Sunday Times writes. The newspaper quotes Jack McConnell, high-ranking representative of Scottish government, in whose opinion fresh immigrants will resolve the demographic crisis in the country, where the birth rate has slumped in recent years. Currently we are discussing a solution that will enable the Bulgarian and Romanian qualified workers to find jobs in Scotland easier than in the other parts of Great Britain, McConnell said in an interview with Sunday Times.

Golf is not a favorite pastime here. Bulgaria, one of the poorest of the former Soviet bloc countries in Europe, never developed a tradition of playing and has just three golf courses.
But as the country has become one of the Continent’s hottest second-home markets, all that is about to change.
Six golf resorts are being built with courses by internationally known designers, including two by Gary Player and one by Jack Nicklaus. Three of the courses are on the Black Sea coast, two near the ski resorts of Bansko and Borovets and the sixth near the capital, Sofia.
Ten other courses also are being planned across the country, most with residential components, but more focused on the domestic market.

When the question arises as to whether Bulgaria is still a good place to buy, the answer is yes, but only if you know where and what.
Bulgaria itself is enjoying a boom time. It is no longer seen as a grey Communist state and has made impressive progress towards long-term stability and sustained growth. Tourists are pouring in at a rate of over 4 million per annum and it is estimated that by 2010 this figure will have increased to 20 million.