Realtors: luxury properties not hard to sell

Bulgarian property funds do not plan to raise fresh cash for investments and have no trouble selling their finished projects, the major market players said. The bulk of the companies have already secured resources and agreed bank loans but owned up to slower sales and pickier housing and holiday property customers. Offices on good locations and with developed infrastructure are still in demand. Holiday real estates are attracting buyers from Russia and the former Soviet countries and supply meets demand in the luxury segment. In the middle and low segments, supply outstrips demand. We are looking at a reflux in the home segment as prices are trying to settle, according to Todor Stoyanov, executive director of Prime Property BG. Real estate investment trusts came round the view that pressure is highest in the holiday segment but said that good projects find buyers. Property management funds would rather talk about a settling market, sifting through projects and a temporary stagnation than of a crisis. Park Management Company manager Atanas Georgiev said companies can no longer easily rely on sold or rented projects to finish new ones. Source: http://news.dnevnik.bg/

Bad household loans catch up with corporate loans

The volume of bad loans for individuals and households almost touched corporate loans in end-July 2008 although individuals took some 11 bln levs less, central bank data showed. Bad consumer, mortgage and other loans of individuals added up to 468.5 mln levs. Bad corporate loans totaled 493.6 mln levs. Companies drew 28.5 bln levs worth of loans. Households and individuals borrowed a combined 16.9 bln levs. Banks’ retail loan portfolios grew as fast as bad and restructured loans. Bad consumer loans picked up 44.8 pct year-on-year as the whole consumer portfolio expanded by 47 pct year-on-year. Bad housing mortgage loans grew 48.9 pct and the whole portfolio added 50 pct. The close paces are due to the smaller growth rate of new loans, bankers commented. Bad and restructured loans combined soared by 282 mln levs to 962.1 mln levs for a year making 2.11 pct of the total portfolio. The combined profit of Bulgarian lenders surged 38.2 pct to 842 mln levs from January to July. Source: http://news.dnevnik.bg/

Greek Titan Group may put 200 mln euro into Lovech plant

Greek cement maker Titan Group is mulling over pouring up to 200 mln euro into boosting production capacities in the northern town of Lovech, said economy minister Petar Dimitrov quoted by Focus news agency. The holding company has so far invested 51 mln euro in production operations in Bulgaria. It has units near Sofia, Zlatna Panega and Plovdiv. The company unveiled on September 13 a new production line at the Zlatna Panega factory wrapping up the first phase of its investment strategy. Titan Group is ready to build another production line provided that the future national development plan recognises the sector’s economic and industrial growth, said executive director Alexander Chakmakov. The new facility will increase to 1.2 mln tonnes the production capacity for clinker, the key cement raw material. Source: http://news.dnevnik.bg/