Dear friends,
I feel that I owe you a detailed explanation as to why we decided to change the date of the yearly conference “The Eagle Has Landed” from April to late September 2008, and to let you have my comments and thoughts as to the property market situation in Bulgaria and the way I see it developing.
Recently my increased duties and the un-expected flow of clients (this winter was the busiest ever) has kept me so occupied, that I was deprived from the real pleasure I always get, by contacting you personally and regularly!
My aim and vision has always been to create such conditions where your and our investments will have the best possible opportunity to grow! You do realize that this task requires a lot of time and energy and it is not something which can be delegated to either my assistants or to third parties. Not that my assistants could not perform as required, but because I feel that my duty and my loyalty to you all, dictates my personal care and attention.
I had a very tiring and exhausting year which was sealed with my health problem and the disc operation I had in January 2008. Today, right at the start of the spring, I feel full of energy, completely content and extremely happy with the fruits of my labours.
I wanted to share all these with you during the Spring Conference and ask for your approval for what we are about to start doing in a few weeks, which naturally will influence and affect your own investments greatly. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the 24th of April is the Greek Orthodox Good Friday, most of the non British guests and investors couldn’t make it and this fact would have had incomplete and negative results. We had no other choice but to change the date, as we did!
Additionally, I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of been able to “show you around” the Royal Oakwood and “Marina Gardens”, the construction of which is due to start shortly! I know that you are all waiting to see something grand happening and the time we had until the end of April was not enough to allow us to do something obvious, that would have put your minds at rest.
It is needless to say that seen the start of my vision been realized and coming into being, would be the greatest moment of my life. I want to feel proud in that moment and not to have to apologize and give long senseless explanations. Please bear with me a bit more, I feel I deserve it.
I am sure that you will love what I will show you in September and above all, you will appreciate the impact which it will have on your investments.
I also wanted to talk to you about the situation in the market and as always give you the true facts, disclose to you my thoughts and plans for the future.
Very often in the recent past you read my views, most of which were very daring and unpleasant to some, but very true in any case.
In 2003, I was advising clients not to invest in coastal properties, especially apartments, because it was the worst investment they could make. Instead I was asking them to put their money on land! Some took my advice and they have made a kill and some ignored me and lost their money! I am aware of the bad publicity that Bulgaria is presently receiving from people who lost their money and I ask these people! Did you willingly buy these properties? Did you willingly and without asking for professional advice, put your signature on the contract, took in the lies and the false promises from the Developers and parted with your money? Did you, in your free will, fall into the trap besides the warnings from people like us, both in the UK and Bulgaria? Why do you complain then? The Bulgarians have a saying…”crazy is not the one that eats the pie, but the one who gave it”!!!
What is the situation today?
The otherwise “great” locations of Sunny Beach, the South Coast and Bansko, have tens of thousands of lousy little pigeon halls which they call “apartments” that nobody wants to buy, while thousands of hopeful investors are trying to “discharge” what they bought a few years ago as a “brilliant” investment! Apartments bought in 2005 for 1250 euros/m2 are offered today for 600-700 euros/m2…but nobody is interested to buy! This market is gone and gone for good and with it the money of thousands of careless investors.
On the other hand, wise investors, who relied on professional advice and bought apartments, villas and other properties in the main cities and near them, are now realizing that they had made a fantastic investment. To give you an example, while apartments in the locality of our head office were selling three years ago for 1250 euros/m2, today you will be lucky to find any, even if you pay 2500 euros/m2.
The same situation applies for the villas and other properties in the outskirts of the main town. Country houses which were bought in 2003 for 30-40.000 euros, they sell like hot cake for 80-120.000 euros!
I will not make reference to prime land and prime locations, where it is extremely difficult these days to find land for less than 60-80 euros/m2, while a couple of years ago you could buy as much as you wanted for 30-40 euros/m2.
Is the Bulgarian Property Market in a crisis?
Proven right, is not always an enjoyable pleasure, especially when this involves the misfortune of a big number of people losing their money! I know that the people closest to me will say…you said so some time ago…! The truth is that I honestly wish that I was wrong and my predictions were non-founded, but as we say, this is life!
I am going to make a new prediction, in fact it is not a “pure” prediction but a projection of statistical facts that we had recently from the European Union Socio-economic study, for the immediate future of the Bulgarian Property Market. Time will prove me (as always) right!
By the end of this summer the “dust” will settle and the market will, free from irregularities and amateurism, stabilize and return back to its “normal” and “healthy” growth!
The time will endorse my repeated statement that “Bulgaria should not be seen as a tourist destination, besides its beauty and natural surroundings”. I am not suggesting that we should turn tourism away, but we should certainly not base our future planning of the property market on this factor. Instead, we should “read the writing on the wall” and go for the real thing! And the real thing is a huge market segment, made up of people, who have to or wish to move from their countries of origin for a number of reasons. I will name some of these reasons and I am sure you will agree with me that they are valid reasons, which in any case are endorsed by the Socio-economic Study of the European Union.
1- Rising cost of living in most EU countries and the shrinking of people’s purchasing power.
2- Collapsing pension funds, both public and private and their inability to pay decent pensions.
3- The collapse of the national health services and their inability to offer proper treatment to those who need it.
4- Privatization of the health services and the inability of the third age people to pay for it.
5- The aging of the European population and the additional tax burden on those who are still at work.
6- Lack of security and social integration in most of the big European cities.
7- The ever rising cost of proper housing and the inability of the people to afford it.
8- The rapid advance of the “state/policeman watching you” and lack of freedom and privacy.
9- The erosion of social values and the gradual collapse of the education system.
10- The social alienation and inhumane treatment of the people of the third age.
I can carry on and on, but this is neither my intention nor it is needed at this point. Considering all these points raised above, Bulgaria can offer a positive and affordable solution which will, in the years to come, attract millions of those people to move and settle in this beautiful country! It is estimated that by the year 2020 the population of Bulgaria will double (18-20 million) and half of this will be people that have moved from other EU member countries.
We, as Eurolink Investment Group, have geared our policy and strategy to serve these people a long time ago! This is why we are so confident and determined to realize our vision. We will not simply provide the housing, on the contrary we will go out of our way to offer, quality of life, affordable health care, entertainment, security and a new purpose in life, for those who fought all their life for us, the younger ones, to have what we have and enjoy.
I want you to share my vision and my dream and be there as part of the winning team.
God bless you all!
