Buying your place in the sun: real estate near the Black Sea

In the last couple of years, the southern Black Sea coast has become an increasingly popular destination for both investors and tourists seeking high-quality fun for a low price. While the northern Black Sea is more suitable for a “back to nature” type of experience, the southern coast is more typically seen as a place for active vacations.

The southern Black Sea is a more developed tourist region compared to the northern, yet prices in both places are pretty much the same. How profitable investment in a real estate property along the southern coast will turn out to be, depends on the location and the type of investment.

In other words, your investment plan should be tailored to a particular resort. If you wish to invest in one or more holiday apartments and obtain a stable annual investment return by renting them, it would be wiser to purchase these apartments in older, popular resorts like Sunny Beach or Nesebar.

If, however, your plan is to buy a property and then sell it for a profit, it is better to invest in developing resorts like Tsarevo and Anthopol where prices are still low.

If you have been considering either of these two types of investments, the following will help you find your way on the Southern Black Sea investment map.

Sunny Beach, located 35 km from the major city of Burgas, is one of the oldest Bulgarian sea resorts and certainly one of the most expensive. Prices range, but highly depend on how close the property is to the beach. Location here is of crucial importance and a lot depends if the apartment has a sea view. Tourists tend to complain that Sunny Beach is too crowded with people and buildings, but chances for a good rental income are excellent.

Nesebar is an ancient city, which consists of two parts, one old and other new, connected by an isthmus. The old part of this remarkable town-museum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is nearly impossible to purchase property in the Old Town. In some years there are none or only one building or apartment for sale there. However, it is expected that in the next two years the prices of the properties in Nesebar’s Old Town will double.

The new part is much less interesting, but the proximity to the Old Town makes it a popular tourist spot for both foreigners and Bulgarians. By the way, the new part is located only 40 km from Burgas airport.

Tsarevo is probably the fastest developing resort on the southern Black Sea. A couple of the most ambitious holiday complex projects in the country are being built there. The town is situated some 60 km from Burgas and only a few years ago it served as a sad reminder of what post-communist Bulgaria looked like.

It’s very possible, however, that in a few years’ time Tsarevo will be the new Sunny Beach. So this developing resort combines safety and profitability.

Sinemorets is a small village near the Veleka river, located at the southernmost point of the Black Sea coast. It is especially interesting because, during communism, access to Sinemorets was banned due to its close proximity to the Turkish border.

The village barely figures on the international investment map, but Bulgarians simply love it.