Dimitar Savov - Social impact is increasingly significant

Dimitar Savov, executive director of BLD Homes, shares his insights on CEE real estate and Bulgaria in particular.

April 3, 2019Real Estate
Dimitar Savov, executive director of residential real estate developer BLD Homes, says that co-living and proptech are challenging trends. In the residential sector, he sees social issues and community as important and raises the intriguing idea of renting whole buildings, as well as co-living. 

BLD Homes is part of Bulgaria and Balkans-focused real estate services and investment company AG Capital. BLD Homes’ residential developments are constructed in and around Bulgaria’s capital city, Sofia.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors wishing to break into CEE/SEE markets, what would it be? 

Patience. And they really need to do research to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages in the region.

Which real estate debates/trends are on your and your team's agenda these days?

The challenging trends in residential real estate business are co-living and proptech. The social impact in our business is becoming more and more significant. So, co-living – shared housing for people with shared interests and intentions – is something we follow. Proptech – or using technologies to facilitate people to buy, sell and manage their property – is also in our focus.

For the asset classes that interest you, what do you view as disruptors or enablers?

An intriguing factor is the rental of whole buildings, as well as co-living. The tendency of people to live together or close to each other because of their things in common may change the market a lot. We have to be ready to give them the buildings, the infrastructure and environment they want, not as a group but as a community. Investors have to prepare themselves for the new social needs, reflected in residential real estate business.

Where does the region sit in the investment cycle and how does that impact your capital structures and investment decisions?

The region is set at its peak today. There are a lot of projects; supply is significant. I think investment decisions have to be really conservative and careful. The fund level will increase; projects’ implementation terms will extend as a result of the supply and the “saturation”.

Do you see a tendency for any alternative subclasses to turn into core assets in the nearest future?

I don’t contemplate that possibility in the near-term future. As I said, the markets are mature for now, so my expectations are conservative.

How important are environmental & social issues in the region’s real estate industry?

Social issues are really important. The new generations want to live in an open society. They want to have a specific lifestyle – not in a flat in some building on some street, but with people who like each other and have the same social values. On the other hand, property availability in Bulgaria is rising for now. Despite that, I think that won’t last for long. Because young people do not have savings: they are really depending upon credits, which is going to affect the property market.

How do you see the long-term future of CEE/SEE real estate?

The long-term future is always hard to predict.  I see a stable and mature market for now. But still,  CEE/SEE markets have great development potential. We need to develop the region in order to build up a competitive real estate business here.


This interview is one of a series being published on the GRI Hub of real estate market leaders across the CEE/SEE region.

Dimitar Savov will be participating in CEE GRI 2019 on 14-15 May in Warsaw, where CEE real estate markets will be discussed in further detail.