BLD, AG Capital’s residential investment and development company is ready to launch 65 fully furnished apartments on the market as part of its new Build-to-Rent (BTR) arm. Following an active group strategy over the past few years, BLD’s goal is set to reach a total of 1000 BTR units in Sofia.
The new BTR platform is positioned as an integrated, profitable solution leveraging on BLD’s proven track record and success in residential development, investment, and facility management. BLD is aiming for a modern and convenient product in the short and mid-term rental range with profitability expected at 5% to 6%, compared to standard private rental, accounting usually only for 3% to 4%.
The new Build-to-Rent service differs from the standard private rented market options, as BTR homes are developed exclusively for short and mid-term rental and feature professional in-house facility management and complementary services. Apartments are located in the company’s newest developments and come fully furnished and value-packed within an excellent environment, access to a variety of amenities and services as part of a special community.
The first 65 BTR units have a prime mountain-facing location in the new MONA 2 building in Manastirski Livadi East in Sofia and are scheduled for go-to-market next month. MONA 2 has 3 separate sections with a total area of 23.4 thousand sqm, 1 section being dedicated exclusively for a total of 200 BTR units.
BLD has already gained track in BTR with its four-unit pilot project in MONA1 in the past few years, where four different interiors were created by different designers and tested with potential customers. Two of the interiors that proved best functionality and amenity, have now been integrated in the MONA 2 BTR block of flats.
BLD’s AVIVA residential development project in downtown Sofia (coming up mid 2024) will add another set of 170 BTR homes to the portfolio, as a total of 1000 residential units under BTR have been planned on schedule with the goal of further selling them to an investment fund.
According to BLD’s CEO Dimitar Savov, the BTR sector in Bulgaria is yet to face serious investment interest. “The reason that so far it hasn’t been approached by institutional investors is the lack of a good product with the proper management required for these particular types of buildings. BTR, alongside logistics, now forms an absolute real estate hit with institutional investors in post-pandemic times, major interest coming from pension funds. We have envisaged dedicated BTR units with each subsequent project that we will be delivering”, says Dimitar Savov.
BLD’s BTR arm comes as a different solution in Bulgarian real estate, designed to add value with a variety of services and amenities available for tenants in the new residential developments – facility management, reception, lobby, gym area, small co-working spaces, event and lounge rooms, dog lawns, coffee shops, etc. Incorporating utilities’ cost in the rental price is also being considered in the future, but is currently on hold as an option due to the soaring energy prices.
BTR apartments are focused on short and mid-term rental (1 month to 1 year), targeting mainly young and middle-aged people who are still considering a purchase and need time.
“The niche is definitely here to stay and we are aiming for the right services to offer. We will not be competing with the private rented sector, as our product comes with a specific design, target and value-packed services like management, maintenance, amenities and community, all-in-one”, says Dimitar Savov.
The AG Capital Team
