Looking to invest in an off plan that is being advertised for Bansko - apparently area is on the up with investment in new Ski equipment, opening of Golf Course, new Ski Slopes to be developed in Kulino, possible new airport being built within 20 minutes, motorway being opened from current main airport direction. The developer is UK company - very high spec. 2 and 3 bed aprtments - approx 1500 - 1900 euro per sq. metre. Any advice as to how attractive Bansko area is - we would be investors and users (skiing)

I visited Bansko exactly 1 year ago on a property inspection trip. Bansko is a lovely old Bulgarian village which has retained it's 'olde worldy' charm despite the massive expansion the new builds are bringing to it. The road connection from Sofia airport was very poor, especially the last 15 kms in deep snow!! It took about 4 hrs although in good weather on the way back took 3 hrs. That said, major EU investment is pouring into Bulgarian infrastructure and main roads are being constructed. A nearby military airport in the Razlog valley is now being considered for commercial use. Bansko is being heavily promoted in the ski brochures now and will undoubtedly be the flagship of Bulgarian ski resorts in the future, especially when the runs are extended. There are currently approx 65 kms of ski runs which are planned to be extended to 250 kms in the next few years. My concern is supply starting to exceed demand. The top end of town near the ski lifts is one large building site. As general prices inevitably catch up with more fashionable and geographically closer French/Swiss/Italian ski resorts, will British people still want to travel as far afield as Bulgaria to ski? It is almost exclusively Brits and Irish who are buying property there at the moment. Another concern is the exit strategy as everyone is buying new and there is no end to the supply. Bansko is also starting to be marketed as a summer resort too, hence the golf courses, although it's mainly Germans & Greeks that visit in summer at the moment. I did purchase an off-plan apartment and using PS's valuation methodology have seen approx 23% growth in my overall investment in 11 months, with completion due next summer. I'm therefore quite happy so far. If you're going to do it, my advice would be get in quick, buy at the top end of the market and buy as close to the ski lifts as you can afford. I feel you should also expect to be in it for the medium to long term as realistically you'll find it difficult to sell on for a few years yet.

Forget any 'growth' calculations. You have achieved no price growth until you've sold the property. If you try to sell now, you'd see you can't sell at all, probably not even for the same price you bought. I'd say, if you want to have a chance of selling (or renting) for the next 10 years, stay away from Bulgaria (sea and ski).

Roger, It is true long term Bansko has lots of potential and there are lots of things going on there eg the airport, roads, etc that you mention. However, i believe that there are better places to put your money (eg Poland and Romania) for the reasons that we have written about on this site every month. That is why i'm selling my property in Bansko, and if you want to buy high quality well located apartments in Bansko then you can buy mine! and i won't charge you 1500-1900 euro/sqm .... more like 1200 euro/sqm which is way below market value and is a great deal for the quality/location. If you want any detailed advice on Bansko then just ring the office and ask to speak to me.

I also bought an apartment in bansko and was surprised at the amount of new supply that continued to pour into the market. Personally I will hold and rent. I don't expect any gains the next 2 years. I think there will be good gains long term but probably only after a price correction and when the hype has gone out of the market.

I have just retured from a week skiing in Bansko and was considering investing there. Average queueing times to catch the Gondola upto the ski area where about an hour between 9:30 and 11:30am and this is with the current accomodation. Apart from the old town which seems to be largely unaffected by the mass construction going on, the rest of the area is being heavily developed. My primary concerns for the area as an investment opportunity are exit strategies given the level of new build and the over supply of accomodation for the facilities the resort has to offer ie Gondola capacity, piste capacity, restaurant and other leisure facilities

Does anyone have any views on the development / expansion of the lift capacity / extension of ski runs ? What is the best place to invest for ski resorts?

I have a property in Pamporovo, Bulgaria. I chose this one over Bansko because of the restrictions on development. The resort is lower, but is actually on (or very near the ski runs) The skiing is not as developed there (currently about 25km of runs), but there is huge investment planned for the area (look up the Perelik project), some sources say that the ski area will be the biggest in Bulgaria. I dont believe the hype but I do know that with the investment going into the area and the curb on new developments , this is a better option than bansko. the occupancy was apparently 100% in 2005... barrasford and bird have a very good development (my apartment is in the grand monastry complex - which is located on the side of the ski run!) If anyone has any questions about it, Pamporovo or the ski resorts let me know Cheers

I too have an appartment in Pamporovo which was completed in June 2006. The property is 100m from a ski-lift, and has been advertised through a website launched by the property brokers, and through Balkan Holidays. It has however not received any bookings yet. It may be because it is a 2bed 2 bath appt. A Studio appt I own in Bansko, has been let out for 10 weeks of this season so far though.

Any advice you could give me about how to get rentals for Pamporovo would be really appreciated.

my concern about Pamporovo is that it might struggle for good snowfall especially with global warming. Bansko is higher altitude. I also think that they have just severely restricted development in bansko so that should stop further increase in supply. My view, Pamporovo will have more short term gains than bansko because of the Perelik project but I am still not sure it is the best area to invest in. The spa area in Sandanski is the area I think has most room for growth and it is very popular with the Greeks and the Russians and it doesn't rely on snowfall at low altitude.

The key to investing in Bansko is to be aligned with the main flow of $$tourists$$. For this you need your apartment to be affiliated with a tour operator. Unless the apartment you buy is aligned with a tour operator it will probably sit empty - unless you manage/advertise the letting yourself. I invested in 3 apartments which are contracted to a bulgarian tour operator until 2010. The yield is > 10% hands off. There is no resale market so their value is accademic. But the infrastructure can only support so much development which will put a cap on supply - this is already happening, applications are already being knocked back. Make sure your apartment is contracted to a tour operator. Have your solicitor go over the rental agreement before you sign anything. Don't beleive anything they don't put down in the contract. If no rental contract is available at the time of purchase don't buy it. A tour operator may come down the line but it's too much of a risk. If you get a guarantee, look at the numbers to see by how much the price is front loaded (it may not be but probably is, just make sure you know by how much) It has to be close to the ski lift (