Unique Estates at the Annual Conference “Investments and Construction of Residential Buildings 2017”

The Managing Partner of our company Unique Estates Vesela Ilieva has traditionally participated in the annual conference “Investments and Construction of Residential Buildings”. The forum, organized by the Gradat Media Group, took place in Sofia Event Center, bringing together experts in the real estate field, consulting companies, investors, building contractors, architects, interior designers.

Mrs. Ilieva joined The Market and the Product panel, presenting the challenges that the luxury property market in Bulgaria and worldwide faces. The main one, which she outlined, is the so-called. millennium generation - young people over their 30s who have already accumulated money from work in fast-growing fields such as information technology, banking and finance, investment and start-up business.

The main collision on the luxury property market stems from the lack of modern residential areas with large, open, functionally divided spaces and modern furnishings, at the expense of classic properties with massive furniture and many rooms. Young modern people are looking for technology and smart home management systems that are missing in the luxury properties, preferred by wealthy people aged 60+, who are the main owners in the high-end segment. Modern customers want to have mobile access to the heating, lighting, ventilation and security systems in their home and to manage them from a distance.

The new 30+ users in the luxury segment prefer to live in the dynamic urban environment where they are looking for apartments with plenty of light, wide spaces and large terraces to entertain with friends. The average size of preferred homes is between 250 and 400 sq m, as the market not only in Bulgaria but all over the world experiences a serious shortage of such properties.

The modern client requires from the luxury real estate consultants a new approach to housing presentation. He/She needs quick access to all the necessary information, the opportunity to view, choose and coordinate the desired property overview for a minimum of time. This is why Unique Estates offers virtual tours of top-quality properties from its portfolio, a 360-degree picture of these homes, videos with highlights, architecture and interior design, an abundant gallery of photos and a detailed description of the property's characteristics and its surrounding urban areas.

The luxury sector reports a record demand for real estates due to the 15% growth in the segment compared to 2015 (according to data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute), due to the expensive market supply and the lowest interest rates on mortgage loans for the past 28 years (according to data of the Bulgarian National Bank). The buyers of homes, which worth over EUR 600,000, as well as those who acquire properties for investment purposes, return in the market. Clients are interested in purchasing their second home on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and in Greece, added Mrs. Ilieva.

Traditionally high is the interest in dwellings in the area of the Doctor's Garden, the Sofia downtown, the southern parts of the capital and the districts of Lozenets, Ivan Vazov, Iztok and Izgrev. The demand for residential areas in the region of Bulgaria Blvd in Sofia has also revived. As usual, the highest interest in houses is reported at the foot of Vitosha mountain, where once a house comes out on the market, it is sold very quickly.