Bulgaria as third most popular overseas property destination according to HIFX industrial study

The UK newspaper The Herald devoted its attention to the Bulgarian property market. The interest was initiated by the industry study, by currency specialist HIFX, which positions Bulgaria on the third place of the most popular destinations for foreign property investments and holiday homes, behind only Spain and France.
Bulgaria is a hot spot for holiday homes ahead of Florida, Portugal, and Dubai due to the marketing of the Black Sea coast for summer holidays and inland mountains for skiing.
Bulgaria is now promoted as the best place to buy and indeed you can get more for your money than in Spain, Portugal, or Greece. The cost of living is so low that you can enjoy the kind of lifestyle that was affordable in Mediterranean Europe 30 years ago. Adding to this the sunny climate and the broad sandy beaches, Bulgaria has also been voted the Brits’ favourite holiday destination by First Choice, and the Association of British Travel Agents expects UK visitor numbers to have reached 200,000 this year.

The cheap prices mean Bulgaria is ideal for holiday home buyers or investors with limited budgets. But The Herald warned that when Bulgaria joins the EU in 2007, second home owners can expect the value of their properties to soar.
The Herald also cited Alex Wright, the director of HIFX, who said that Bulgarian resorts are reminiscent of Spain 20 years ago and investors are buying in their droves and there is similar activity in some of the ski resorts.

The Herald published statistics indicating the most popular overseas property destinations in percentages and if the number is falling, increasing or staying unchanged:

Spain - 26% (falling)
France - 24% (falling)
Bulgaria - 8% (increasing)
Australia - 7% (unchanged)
US - 7% (falling)
Dubai - 6% (increasing)
New Zealand - 4% (falling)
Cyprus - 4% (unchanged)
Canada - 4% (increasing)
Italy - 2% (increasing)
Turkey - 2% (increasing)
Portugal - 2% (falling)
Switzerland - 1% (increasing)
Brazil - 1% (increasing)
Others - 2% (increasing)