Assetz® News » HOME | RSS Feed FEED | LIST ALL ARTICLES | ASSETZ HOMEPAGE
Investment Property News from Assetz

Assetz® Property News Service

France and Spain top November overseas interest

15th December 2006 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

British property investors continue to opt for the old favourite locations of France and Spain to invest their cash, according to new research.

The two European nations, old friends of British holiday-home seekers, beat off stiff competition from emerging markets in the Eastern Bloc to become the two top countries for currency enquiries to foreign exchange firm HIFX.

In the company's monthly survey of global property hotspots, France and Spain made up over half of all its currency transactions last month.

Mark Bodega, marketing director of currency specialists HiFX, commented: "Despite a fair amount of dabbling by investors in some more exotic locations, old time favourites France and Spain are still the first choice for British buyers looking for a holiday home or retirement home.

"With the markets in both countries having slowed down over the last 12 months, we are seeing some really good bargains coming up and it seems that many canny Brits have also spotted this and are beginning to return to these traditional overseas markets in increasing numbers."

Although he admitted that the markets in both countries – especially Spain – had cooled of late, Mr Bodega said that traditionalists were now looking at "lesser known costas and inland amongst the olive groves", as opposed to eastern Europe.

Indeed previously touted hotspots Bulgaria, Turkey and Morocco actually saw their proportions of currency enquiries decrease in November, while those in Cyprus, Cape Verde and Dubai remained the same as the previous month.

In a statement, HIFX said that although quick returns can be attained in emerging markets, investors "should be careful as the fad of these countries could disappear just as quickly as they have appeared".

The monthly decline of interest in the emerging markets may be linked to homeowners' increasing affordability constraints due to the recent rise in interest rates, causing overseas property to bank on the more stable markets of France and Spain.

With an array of regular cheap flights to a comprehensive list of destinations, Brits are turning to our elder European neighbours due to the ease of access and the security of stable house price inflation.

Furthermore, houses in France and Spain are much easier to rent due to their inherently strong tourist markets and high regard among UK residents.

The large ex-pat community in both countries means that settling in is not too much of a culture shock for retirees, who make up a large proportion of the overseas property market.

Assetz® is a UK and International Property Investment Specialist. Please visit our property sites shown below.

Assetz for Investors UK Assetz Hotels Assetz Homes Assetz France Assetz Spain Assetz Cyprus Assetz Germany Assetz Portugal Assetz Ski Assetz Cape Verde Assetz USA Assetz Finance Assetz Fund Management

Accessing the news service

You can view all of the Assetz® UK, International and UK Property Investment Articles and News here.

We also provide an RSS Feed Feed of the news service, or you can view all articles. Click here to view more information on RSS readers and how they make reading online news more convenient.

eXTReMe Tracker