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In Bulgaria’s Future: Clubs, Caddies and Golf Carts

Overall, real estate is one of the fastest growing sectors in the national economy, which grew by 5.2 percent in 2005. Foreigners were involved in 23 percent of the 220,000 property deals registered in Bulgaria in 2005, transactions that totaled more than 4 billion euros, or $5 billion, according to the National Real Property Association of Bulgaria. The year before they generated 18 percent of all sales, or 3.36 billion euros.

Much of the interest is linked to the country’s expected entry into the European Union in January. With sale prices in Sofia still averaging only $66 per square foot, construction costs, sales prices and incomes are all expected to jump after membership, fueling a ‘‘now or never’’’ air of urgency among citizens and foreigners alike.

The first portion of the Ibar project is expected to be finished in January, and 25 percent of the villas already have been sold, with prices ranging from 120,000 to 200,000 euros, or $152,000 to $254,000. As in most golf developments in Bulgaria, Mr. Lazarov said, almost all the buyers are British and Irish. ‘‘They are about 60-40 mixed between investors and golfers. I think in the future it will reverse and there will be more golfers,’’ he said, as golfers are less comfortable than investors with the practice of buying properties before they are completed.

There are no direct flights from New York to Sofia, but the Bulgarian capital is just a short flight London, Paris or Vienna.

Michael Lenihan, publisher of Golf Management Europe magazine, said, ‘‘I think a lot of people are looking at places like Bulgaria and the Czech Republic for a way to make a quick killing and I’m not so sure it’s going to be sustainable long term.’’

With the spread of cheap air travel throughout Europe, these high-profile Bulgarian golf developments will not be competing with each other, but with golf property destinations in the Mediterranean and Europe in general, said Andrea Sartori, head of the Travel, Leisure and Tourism Group for Central and Eastern Europe at KPMG, a global firm that provides tax, audit and advisory services.

Mr. Stoychev also is vice president of the Bulgarian Golf Association, which is trying to popularize the game. He expects golf to become more popular as Bulgaria becomes a more prosperous country.

‘‘If you don’t have a supply of golf courses, you can’t create a golf market,’’ said Mr. Sartori of KPMG. ‘‘There is not a market because there are no golf courses, it’s a Catch-22 situation.’’

‘‘Nowadays you have more than 52 golf courses and 24,000 golfers in the Czech Republic, while in 1990 I think there were 3 courses,’’ he said. ‘‘Demand helped to grow the supply, but supply also helped to grow the demand.’’