The coronavirus crisis did not affect so much the office property market in Bulgaria because Bulgaria has the advantage of having an educated workforce. Big companies are even increasing their offices in Bulgaria. However, the war gives uncertainty, which affects the market. Many big decisions are not made by big companies, which cannot help but affect the development of this industry. This is what BBBA Member Adina Welsh, CEO of RPHI, said in the first edition this year of the multi-platform project Talk 23 on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria with host Kalina Donkova.
Welsh pointed out that inflation and rising prices are also affecting the development of more green buildings. “Meanwhile, there is an acceleration of all green policies in many more directions globally. The industry is the first to see the new green measures,” she added.
Welsh also commented on the reasons why Romania has nearly 800 certified green buildings and Bulgaria only 79. The short answer, she said, is that it’s simply worth it – such buildings have much better efficiency; are more attractive in terms of investment; and will retain their price much longer.
The guest said implementation of green policies needs to happen on a much larger scale. She pointed out that in some cases tax policies are punitive and get in the way because they are not thought through. “There is a need for great capital expenditures in older buildings because new buildings are easy,” the guest said.
She thinks Sofia has great potential, and for Bulgaria to catch up with Romania in terms of “green” buildings, it all needs to start at education level.
You can watch the whole interview in Bulgarian here.