The northern border of Sunny Beach is the village of Sveti Vlas, and the southern border is the city of Nessebar, almost merged with the resort. The beach is about 9 km long and up to 150 m wide. In July and August, the Black Sea warms up to + 25-27 °C here, and sometimes up to +30 °C. To the north is the upland of the Staroplaninsky mountain range, which creates a magnificent combination of sea and mountain landscapes.
The resort is developing
The creation of the resort began in 1958. Initially, Sunny Beach was conceived as a recreation center for Bulgarians and residents of Eastern European countries. For almost 50 years since then, the resort has become the largest not only in Bulgaria, but also on the entire Black Sea. Now there are about 300 hotels, campsites, residential complexes, and the number of restaurants and entertainment establishments is beyond counting.
Rest on Sunny Beach is very comfortable. The rapid construction of modern hotels, which has been carried out here since the 1990s, has led to the almost complete disappearance of the old "Soviet" type hotels. The resort has a well–developed infrastructure - tennis courts, swimming pools, bowling alleys, mini golf courses, equestrian bases, water parks, shopping malls, etc. Thanks to this, more and more tourists are resting here not only from the countries of the former socialist camp, but also from Western Europe. Today, the Black Sea resorts of Bulgaria have again become interesting for Russian tourists.
Tourists are attracted primarily by low vacation prices – from 25-30 euros in family hotels to about 100 euros per day for a room in high-class hotels. Russians cannot help but be impressed by the friendliness of Bulgarians and the almost complete absence of a language barrier. It is believed, however, that Sunny Beach is more suitable for youth recreation, and families with children will find it difficult to find quiet, peaceful corners here.
From small to great
From the point of view of real estate buyers, Bulgaria's investment climate is even more attractive than the weather. The construction boom on the Bulgarian coast began at the end of the last century, when all restrictions on private entrepreneurship were lifted, and the land was returned to the old owners or their heirs as a result of restitution.
The first development projects of small landowners were small family hotels, but soon their meager set of services – air conditioning, linen change, room cleaning and a "European" breakfast – ceased to satisfy tourists. International tour operators have already begun to dictate their requirements for comfort and quality of services, and soon they themselves began to participate in projects without waiting for changes for the better. So with the beginning of the new millennium, large hotels with hundreds of rooms began to appear, offering not only large swimming pools, but also tennis courts, football fields and volleyball courts, fitness rooms and spa centers.
Wealthy tourists can recommend modern upscale hotels located directly by the beach – Victoria Palace, Riu Palace Helena Sands, Chaika Beach, Iberostar Sunny Beach, etc. All these hotels have a four-star or five-star category. Large hotels are open all year round and in winter are used for congresses and conferences, as well as for balneological tourism. Hotels are also for sale – their cost is calculated based on 900-1100 euros per 1 sq. m, and the return on investment is 7-15 years, depending on the size of the hotel and its location. The larger the hotel, the lower the costs per 1 sq. m of space and the faster the return on investment.
Profitable and not very
Following the construction of hotels on Sunny Beach
, residential buildings and complexes designed for foreign investors also began to be built. The area of their construction is not limited only to the coastal strip – new projects are being implemented at a distance of up to several kilometers from the coast, although the most prestigious and expensive, of course, tend to the coast.
The cost of resort real estate in Sunny Beach largely depends on its location. The lowest prices – about 600 euros per 1 sq. m. – are observed at a considerable distance from the coast, whereas in houses on the first line from the sea they reach 1500-2500 euros per 1 sq. m. Real estate in the eastern part of the resort is slightly more expensive than in the western.
There is no uniform price dynamics in Sunny Beach right now. Experts agree that Sunny Beach should be considered as a city with promising and not very promising areas. It can definitely be argued that the facilities on the first line from the sea will always remain expensive, and prices there will continue to rise in the future, but already on the secondary market – the first line, unfortunately, is almost completely built up! At the same time, in some areas remote from the sea, a price decline was planned at the end of 2006, which, however, did not become an obvious trend.
Decent ready-made facilities on Sunny Beach cannot cost less than 1200-1300 euros per 1 sq. m. Such an object will be characterized by a good location, the availability of a range of services and quite decent, although not very extensive infrastructure. In the case of a very attractive location, the price will rise to 1,500 euros per 1 sq. m. m and above, and if the infrastructure and operation of the "five star" level are also added to the advantages, then the cost of the "square" will certainly exceed 2000 euros. Individual luxury offers reached the price level of 3,000 euros per 1 sq. m. in March 2007
. Today, you can find offers of ready-made real estate at a price of 800-900 euros per 1 sq. m. m deep in the resort, 500-700 m from the sea, and even 600 euros per 1 sq. m. m in its western part. However, these will be small detached houses, without a swimming pool, security and other services. In the next 1-2 years, their cost, following the general price dynamics, is likely to increase, but in 3-5 years such facilities without the necessary support and care will become completely uncompetitive! Apart from the local population who want to change the situation during their vacation, hardly anyone will want to buy them. At the same time, in complexes under construction at a distance of more than 500 m from the beach, you can also find offers from 530 euros per 1 sq. m, but with a deadline at the end of 2008.
And who builds it?
Currently, there are more than 50 large and small construction companies operating in Sunny Beach. The largest among them has been Fort Noks for many years, which is included in the list of the 200 largest companies in Bulgaria. She has already built and commissioned more than 3,000 apartments, and plans to build more than 10,000 apartments by 2011.
Among the already built facilities from Fort Noks are Sunny Fort, Golden Fort, Green Fort, Privilege Fort Beach, Riviera Fort Beach and many others – most of them are on the first line from the sea. At the end of 2007, the Imperial Fort Club and Crown Fort Club are being commissioned, and the latest projects Nessebar Fort Club and Nessebar Fort Golf Club will be commissioned by the 2008 season.
All complexes have the widest infrastructure – swimming pools, courts, playgrounds, shops, restaurants, bars and many others up to golf courses. The apartments are rented with full interior decoration and are designed for year-round living. The price ranges from 900 to 2300 euros per 1 sq. m, depending on the location of the complex and the degree of readiness. Apartments worth up to 2,500 euros per 1 sq. m. are designed for wealthy buyers. Their distinctive features are panoramic views, high–quality furniture and equipment.
One of the features of Fort Noks is a flexible policy, both in terms of prices and payment methods. A typical scheme provides for payment of 30% of the cost of housing after the conclusion of a preliminary contract, another 20% after the completion of general construction work and another 50% after the complete completion of construction. In addition, it provides for the possibility of installment payments for up to 10 years.
In May this year, the huge residential and hotel complex Royal Garden, located just 50 m from the beach, will be put into operation. The main investor is the Plovdiv company Galaxy Property Group. The residential part of the complex will consist of 6 buildings with almost 500 apartments, and the hotel part will be a "five-star" hotel for 200 guests. The peculiarity of the complex is the variety of its infrastructure: more than 140 shops and catering establishments, 4 themed restaurants, and in the very center there is a water park with an area of about 1 hectare, a spa center with various recreational services, 3 swimming pools, as well as a conference center, lobby bars, restaurants, etc.
The cost of apartments in the Royal Garden is 1500-2300 euros per 1 sq. m, depending on the location and the view from the windows. The owners are offered year-round services for the operation of the complex and the rental of apartments. The advertisement promises a rental profit of 25% of the value of the property per year, but this data is probably slightly higher than what can be obtained in reality.
Another major developer in Sunny Beach is the Plovdiv company Diamant, which offers apartments in several residential complexes. Kasandra Holiday Village and Efir Holiday Village are ready and fully equipped in the Sunrise complexThe Holiday Village is being completed, and the Apart Hotel & Spa Happy Condominium complex is planned to be completed by the 2008 season. The cost of apartments here ranges from 1000 to 1300 euros per 1 sq. m. Prices here are not too high, since these complexes are located several hundred meters from the beach, and their infrastructure is inferior to the above-described complexes.
Who benefits?
At the moment, it is difficult to talk about how profitable apartments on Sunny Beach can be when they are rented out – there are simply no sufficient statistics. Although the summer tourist season in Sunny Beach lasts from June to September, but only July and August are really effective for renting, since during these months there is a maximum occupancy rate, and the demand for rent is quite high. Renting out apartments at this time brings the owner about 40-80 euros per day clean, depending on the size of the apartments, their location and the operating company. The income promised in the brochures of 10-25% per year from the cost of housing looks overly optimistic. Experts who consider real income in the region of 6-7% are more objective. Among the major tour operators working with private apartment owners are companies such as Concord, Tomas Cook and Sunway.
According to the results of recent studies on the prospects of real estate investments in different countries of the world, the former socialist Republic of Bulgaria, having overtaken Florida, Portugal and Dubai, steadily holds the third place, after Spain and France. In Bulgaria itself, Sunny Beach continues to be the most popular place to buy a summer residence. At the same time, there is practically no place left for new construction on Sunny Beach, and prices have already reached a significant value. It is obvious that in the secondary market, the best properties will surely become more expensive, and projects with good infrastructure and professional real estate management have the greatest potential.