Players v Properties

Posted by Jude Buttle on Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Foreign Premier League footballers can shine or fade for the clubs that buy them. Likewise investment properties abroad can succeed or fail. We compare like for like and ask, are foreign footballers a better investment than overseas properties?

Welcome to a new series of features, where we look at some of the foreign football players that are currently plying their trade in the English Premier League and compare their investment credentials with the property market back in their home countries.

After all, directors and managers of Premier League clubs that buy foreign players, hope that they'll get a healthy return for their money with star performances and a cabinet full of trophies. Equally, property investors that purchase abroad want to see an increase in capital gains or achieve a nice little nest egg for when they retire.

Let's start with Bulgaria and the captain of their national team.

Dimitar Berbatov.

Image supplied by Tottenham FC

Background

Dimitar Berbatov's football development started with his hometown side, Pirin Blagoevgrad. His precocious talent was soon spotted and he moved to Bulgaria's most famous club, CSKA Sofia, in 1998. His goal scoring exploits attracted the attention of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, who took him to Germany in January 2001 and after six successful seasons there, Tottenham Hotspur secured his services in the summer of 2006.

Impact

Berbatov has proved to be a firm fans' favourite at Spurs, being voted their player of the year in his very first season. His fantastic finishing and sublime skills have already proved to be a good investment, with him scoring the equaliser for Spurs in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the League Cup final in February, giving the club its first trophy success in nine long years.

Cost & Current Value

Berbatov moved from Bulgaria to Germany in 2000 for an undisclosed fee but Spurs paid £ 10.9 million for him in 2006. He's now estimated to be worth around 25 million and if the rumours are true then Bebatov will be moving to either Manchester United or Chelsea in the summer, which would give Spurs a profit of 14.1 million. In anyone's book that's a nice little earner.

Bulgarian Property Market

Background

Since 1990, Bulgaria has transformed from a highly centralized communist state to a democratic, free market member of NATO and the EU and nothing seems to empathize that more than the property expansion in Bulgaria, where real estate has become something of a national obsession.

Property Trends

Data published by international estate agency Knight Frank, shows that Bulgarian properties saw the highest annual price increase worldwide during 2007. It revealed that average property prices increased by 30.6%, despite the concerns of development saturation.

Also, reports by Bulgarian real estate agency Yavlena, indicate that the property market in Bulgaria was by far and away the country's leading economic growth sector in 2007 with a record breaking turnover of 11.36 billion Euros, up from 9 billion in 2006.

The current boom in property in Bulgaria consists mainly of high quality new developments in ski resorts like Bansko and the seaside apartments along the Black Sea Coast, making Bulgaria one of the most popular locations for foreign investors.

The World Bank predicts economic growth in Bulgaria to continue this year by some 6%. What is more, Bulgaria is now serviced by low cost airlines making it all the more accessible to visitors, meanwhile, the country continues to make major improvements to the infrastructure to accommodate the influx of tourists - all good news for foreign investors.

What do you get for your money?

At the same time that Tottenham were forking out nearly 11 Million for Berbatov in 2006, the average price for a two bed flat in Bulgaria's capital city, Sofia, was around £ 43,500. That's about 250 flats for one Berbatov.

Berbatov's current value has now soared to 25 million, an increase in profit of just under 65%; whereas two beds in Sofia, up to the end of 2007, were on average, in the region of £ 57,000, an increase of 30.6%.

Which has been the better investment?

Therefore the winner this week (drum roll)... is... Dimitar Berbatov.

Image supplied by Tottenham FC

Conclusion

With fewer investors in the current climate and an increase in recent developments, the Bulgarian property market might not maintain recent levels of growth over the next few months, but with the help of Berbatov, Spurs have qualified for the UEFA Cup again next season, earning millions in the process. So whether he stays or not, he's been money well spent.

Search for property in Bulgaria

If you are looking for property for sale in Bulgaria, such as villas, apartments or other types of real estate, why not check out TheMoveChannel.com Bulgaria, which has a large number of listings from Bulgarian estate agents and developers selling properties in the area: http://bulgaria.themovechannel.com/

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