It's that time of year again, when TV channels show a seasonal reselection to feed the over-stuffed minds of the festive viewer. In the frontline of the usual repeatable suspects, alongside the Wizard of Oz and Ben Hur, is Spartacus. Although the fact that Spartacus was born in Thrace, now part of modern-day Bulgaria, may not be common knowledge, the film's most famous scene certainly is. But should you have a field of Brits rather than Barbarians and ask not 'Which one of you is Spartacus' but 'who is the owner of a Bulgarian property', chances are – just like the film – many more than one person would stand up to be counted. Indeed, 10,000 Brits bought property in Bulgaria in 2004, and the large majority of these properties were situated – or are about to be situated – on the Black Sea coast. Yet with explosive price increases outstripping the resale value of some developments in the most saturated seaside spots, buyers are turning away from the coast with the most oversupply and heading up into the mountains.
 
So, should profit-orientated Brits be exchanging golden sand for the white stuff? Well, hype aside, Bulgaria's trio of ski resorts – Pamporovo, Borovets and Bansko – appear to offer the same recipe for success that Sunny Beach was cooking up just a year or two ago: a fair rendition of what's on offer in more established markets, but at just a fraction of the price. However, when this equation starts to break down, and Bulgarian properties no longer offer value for money in relation to other markets, investors start to look elsewhere and prices start to stall.

But one of the strengths of Bulgaria is that it offers a bit of everything, so as the tide of interest begins to ebb from the coast attention turns instead to the Bulgarian ski resorts, which are being promoted as having year-round tourism appeal. And when you consider that you won't get much change from £150,000 when buying a one-bedroom ski apartment in France, say, or Switzerland and that for just one sixth of this amount you could buy off-plan in a Bulgarian ski resort, the potential is as clear as a bright winter's day. In fact, the impressive investment potential of Bansko and co is being talked up just in time for the ski season, and the publicity appears to be having the desired effect: select developments are taking just weeks to sell out. Indeed, with such a hot marketplace, some agents are reporting that selling isn't something they really need to concentrate on. "Sometimes we're just taking orders", says Amar Sodhi of Avatar International. "It's not like an estate agency selling its products; at the moment it's more like a Dominos pizza outlet!" Some buyers are so keen to secure their own piece of the action that they're buying blind. Take the Cains family from the Isle of Man. Michael Cain, 44, and his wife, Erika, 36, bought an apartment at The Bell Tower 2 in Bansko, without actually visiting the resort or even the country. Michael Cain explains: "We have two young children and we all love winter sports. We wanted a property in a ski resort due to the expense of ski holidays for a  family of four". With one-bedroom apartments at The Bell Tower 2 currently available from approximately £26,000, you could follow in their ski tracks.

Like many second property owners, the Cains have not only bought for enjoyment but for investment as well. Michael explains: "Bansko is set for major investment due to its candidacy for the 2014 Winter Olympics, yet it is still a relatively unknown resort. I believe that Bansko has to be the best value compared to any other European ski resort." With EU membership to come, probably in 2007, chances are that there will be a raised appetite among buyers even before the potential staging of the Olympics, and not just for Bansko. "There are many people still not aware of Bulgaria", says Sodhi, "but in 2007 the media will do our job for us. Last year, there was a huge spotlight on all ten countries joining the EU. In 2007, only three are scheduled to join so you can imagine the coverage they will receive." With such a pool of ready purchasers, Bulgaria is also enticing Brits to make major life changes and set up in the estate agency business. Take Debbie Gibbs, for example, who wanted to give her life a shake-up. She sat down with a pen and paper, made a list of options, and settled on working in Bansko's booming property market.  "It hit us that there was a huge gap in the market, an English link, living and working in Bansko to work with British property investors", says Gibbs. "We learned very quickly that the Bulgarians approach business in a very different way to us Brits. They are much more relaxed and don't always understand our need for an answer yesterday!" Now Gibbs is running Bower Properties alongside fellow-Brit Stuart Groves. The company sources properties, acts as a middle man and offers a property management service.

Another company offering to bridge the divide between British and Bulgarian business etiquette is New Estate, which has English staff in its UK offices and English-educated Bulgarian staff in its Sofia office. Says Tony Vidolov, New Estate's representative in Sofia, "Besides our ability to form a bridge between the two cultures, another advantage of buying through us is that we don't charge commission so the price we give you for the development is the price you pay. We also work hard to ensure we choose reputable developers with good track records, preferably big companies with other businesses and absolute financial security." For Vidolov's money, "Bansko is where the big interest is right now".

Unlike Pamporovo or Borovets, which were purpose-built as ski resorts in the 1960s and 1970s, Bankso was a late developer. Well into the 1990s, it was nothing more than a small town set at the foot of the 2,914-metre-high Vihrin mountain, the highest peak in the Pirin range. Today, the original town is still much in evidence, with its winding cobbled streets, traditional stone-and-wood architecture and numerous mehanas (traditional restaurants) serving the big salads and grilled and stuffed meats that Bulgarians relish. It's the kind of place where cows wander down the streets before being collared by their owners and taken back to the barn – buildings so rough-shod that they seem to be held together by nothing more than the frost. But, in modern Bansko, it's not only the cows that have trouble finding their way home.

The pace of development is so fierce that, when I visited in early November, shrink-wrapped bricks were piled high and workmen balanced precariously on unfinished roofs. There are approximately 40 developments currently underway in Bansko, some scheduled to be ready for this winter's ski season, while others are nothing more than freshly excavated holes in the ground. Indeed, says George Kalev of developers KIK Invest, "the locals joke that the town changes so much in a day that they can't find their way home at night". For those readers who worry that such a spate of new-builds could ruin the character of Bansko, something that certainly gives it a unique selling point when compared to Pamporovo and Borovets, don't: the local authorities have been forward-thinking – introducing building restrictions to ensure that the resort's charm is not entirely disarmed. These include specific guidelines on what building materials can be used (local grey stone for exterior stonework and red roof tiles) and height restrictions, so no new development can be more than five storeys high.
But there is one exception: the five-star Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko, which crept up to six distinctive storeys before the regulations were in place. Never mind, says Sodhi of Avatar, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. "Bansko's emergence really started when Kempinski announced that they were building a five-star hotel in the resort; now, with 40 million euros being invested into a golf course with 300 apartments next to it, the emergence is being consolidated."

These developments, along with the local authorities promoting year-round activities – such as mountain biking, hiking in the mountains and exploring the region's traditional villages – and annual events like the summer jazz festival, mean that Bansko is marketing itself as a year-round resort. While this may be, the resort's reason for being is skiing, and thankfully the local authorities have been putting just as much effort into ensuring that the resort's 'day-job' has been well catered for. "There has been a massive investment on the ski slopes with state-of-the-art electronic chip systems for lifts, eight-seater fast gondolas from the resort to the main area and snow-making equipment covering more than half of the runs", says Sodhi.

As a result, Bulgarian ski resorts such as Bansko are now being promoted by a number of UK ski operators, such as Thomson, and receiving the publicity that Pamporovo and Borovets have enjoyed for a few years now. The fact that these resorts boast après-ski prices which Switzerland, France  and Austria can barely remember, such as 50 pence for a pint of beer and family meals for a tenner, is something decidedly in their favour. Moreover, although Bansko offers nowhere near the skiing area of some of the big Alpine resorts, it does score significantly higher in this respect than its neighbouring resorts, offering 65 kilometres off piste in comparison to 40 at Borovets and 25 at Pamporovo. But Bansko looks set to stretch further ahead of its rivals in this respect, as Kalev reveals. "A project has been approved for the construction of a new gondola lift, starting – and hopefully finishing – in 2006. The gondola will be next to the current one, with an extra 20 kilometres of new pistes put within easy reach."
 
When it comes to choosing between the numerous developments now rearing their red-tiled heads in Bansko, proximity to a ski lift is one thing to look out for, as is a reputable developer, quality construction and guaranteed rental income. Says Christophe Gator of New Estate, "The shrewd investor will choose off-plan developments in Bansko where 'guaranteed rental contracts' are offered. This minimises the risks and guarantees annual income equal to or greater than mortgage repayments, thus leaving investors with very healthy increases in value."

One off-plan development that ticks all four boxes is Sunrise, along with its soon-to-be-built neighbour Mountain Paradise by the Walnut Trees. Both are available through New Estate and a selection of other agencies.Sunrise is just 200 metres from the gondola station and a short stroll from the town centre. Almost all of its 154 ready-to-use apartments will have uninterrupted views of the mountains. The complex, reflecting the growing trend for turnkey convenience over a 'ski in, ski out' location, will offer a spa and healthcare facilities, a recreation centre, an indoor swimming pool, shops, landscaped gardens and many other facilities. Prices for an apartment start at around £35,000, while the grandest of the two-bedroom apartments will set you back about £170,000.

Unlike some developers, KIK Invest seems to be in it for the long haul. Not only do the apartments come with the offer of guaranteed rentals for three years – due in large part to the fact that one of the company's directors, Lachezar Dinev, owns a large travel agency – but KIK Invest is also taking on the management of the property. "This means that we can't cut corners during construction", says Dinev, "because if we do we'll be the ones picking up the pieces – and the bill". Not that Sunrise is the only choice in Bansko, of course. You could opt for the St Ivan Rilski development, just a little further from the ski lift, where apartments are available from approximately £30,000 (Avatar International). Or, there's one-bedroom apartments at the striking Eagle Lodge for approximately £50,000, which is situated 800 metres from the gondola station. Alternatively, there's the Predela development, which is just across the road from the gondola station, where a few one- and two-bedroom developments for upwards of £50,000 are still available (Avatar International).

For something completely different, there's Pamporovo. One hundred kilometres east of Bansko, and a two-hour scenic drive from Plovdiv airport, Pamporovo is nestled in the thick pine forests covering the Rhodope mountains. It's this attractive location that determines the shape and feel of the resort. The various ski runs start below the distinctive communications tower that tops the 1,926-metre Snezhanka peak and snake through the trees, while hotels and apartments are scattered hither and thither, radiating out from the ski station like tentacles from an octopus. In this respect Pamporovo is not dissimilar to Borovets, but where Borovets loses out through the sheer scale and utilitarian appearance of its two major hotels (and indeed the gaudy excesses of its nightlife), Pamporovo's architecture is much less of a blight – and that also goes for most of the 20 or so developments currently rising through the trees as well. But just as Pamporovo currently doesn't offer the same number of new developments for sale as Bansko, so in skiing terms it also comes up short. After all, whereas Bansko boasts brand new facilities, Pamporovo's are beginning to look like they need a lick of paint at the very least. However, the resort does have its own plus points, and whether its family skiing holidays or property investment you're after, Pamporovo should not be overlooked. Says Borislav Stoyanov of 21 Vek Real Estate, "Pamporovo is sunnier and warmer than Bansko as it is 1,000 metres lower". "When you catch a lift at Bansko, you are sorry you are born", he adds, overstating the case rather. Stoyanov also points out that these qualities make Pamporovo "more of a family resort than Bansko".
Stoyanov's development company has just released the 90-apartment Rhodope House onto the market, available through New Estate. The development has an excellent location overlooking the resort's main peak and the tree-filled valley below. Here, one bedroom apartments start from a price of £45,000, and guests will have access to the shops, sauna, gym and laundry room available in the complex. While the ski station is a short bus ride away for now, there are plans afoot to build a drag lift directly in front of Rhodope House that links with the main lift network. This will also benefit guests at the Monastery, a development sold out long ago that is just a few steps from the neighbouring Rhodope House.

Following the success of this development, Barrasford and Bird are now launching phase two, but this time situated directly around a ski lift. Robin Barrasford presents the details as follows: "There will be a health spa, ski escalators between buildings and real ski-to-door convenience. Prices will start from £44,000 for one-bed apartments and rise up to £330,000 for four-to-five bedroom villas, with buy-to-let mortgages available." Alternatively, there's Orpheus Valley, 80 apartments tucked between the trees half a mile from the ski lifts. Offering a swimming pool, three saunas and two steam baths, prices for studios start from £30,000 (Avatar International).
 
Like Bansko, Pamporovo has plans to expand, namely the 'Grand Pamporovo' project, which looks set to at least double the total skiable area offered by the resort. And like Bansko, Pamporovo is also angling for summer business, with a combination of mountain biking, hunting, hiking, spa facilities, and – if the rumours are true – an 18-hole golf course tempting visitors throughout the year.

In this respect, Barrasford believes that Pamporovo holds the upper hand over Bansko. "If two-centre summer holidays are offered, it's much easier to package Pamporovo with the Black Sea coast as opposed to Bansko because the former is at least two hours closer to the coast in terms of driving time." But at the moment, one would have to give Pamporovo only a mixed report when it comes to access. "On the one hand", says Sodhi, "you would have to say Pamporovo does have good access because it's not far from Plovdiv, but by the same token regular access only happens with holiday charter flights in the winter, and then you'd have to stay for a week to catch the return flight home. So, there's no opportunity of weekend skiing at the moment, which is manageable in Bansko due to the daily flights from London and Manchester to Sofia, but Pamporovo looks like a good bet for the longer term, especially if low-cost airlines choose to fly into Plovdiv a year or two from now."

When it comes to access, it is in fact Borovets that scoops top honours, being just 90 minutes from Sofia airport. But the current drawback for property buyers – and it's a fundamental one – is that there is very little property to buy. It's a beautiful area, though, and as Vidolov advises, "don't rule Borovets out for the future". This is particularly the case as the resort may one day soon become 'Super Borovets' if the proposals currently being considered are ultimately to be clothed in stone, steel and glass and become a built reality. But for now, wherever in Bulgaria you are planning to buy, bear in mind that the days of 30–40 per cent annual gains are gone. Instead, aim for approximately ten per cent per annum, make sure you can genuinely afford what you're buying, research the agent and developer thoroughly, and don't expect to make money just because you are buying in Bulgaria. Get these things right, and the rest of the experience should be downhill all the way.

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Bargain priced property in Bulgaria
Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast excites Brits

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Article first published in October 2005