Entrepreneurs at winter resorts become hotel keepers

The winter real estate market is the most affected by the economic crisis, shows a survey of the investment company GreenLife. This is the reason for the emergence of many problematic projects in the construction sector, some of which were frozen and others finished with the risk of remaining unutilized. Last season, investors saw as their only option to turn the projects into hotels, said Mariana Daskalova, Marketing Director of GreenLife. According to her, last year demand for properties in winter resorts was three times less than in the previous one and much weaker than in 2008 when many of the current projects were planned. 

Data of the company shows that the this year the tourist season was a good one and was considerably supported by visitors from Greece. Regretfully, the forecasts that Greeks would gradually also start buying properties did not come true, GreenLife specified. However, their willingness to visit our country for skiing was capitalized by the entrepreneurs who began to rent the unsold flats and houses, experts summarized. 

According to the survey, some of the prices of winter real estates went back to their levels from 2005. The average price of a holiday property in the winter of 2009/2010 was a little below €65,000. This is a decrease by more than 40%.

Russian buyers were the most sought by investors due to the big budgets they have at their disposal. The demand of these clients was directed to high-quality projects with many extras. Deals with Russian buyers already account for 48% of this market segment, compared to 90% of summer resorts and only 18% of the winter real estates in 2008. Bulgarian buyers account for just 15% and the remaining percentage is shared by English, Greeks, Romanians, Maltese and Spaniards. Offers for sale of winter holiday properties exceed the demand, experts specify and as a result, the property market in these resorts has come to a standstill.