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Autumn prompts foreign buying spree

19th September 2007 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

The onset of autumn is bringing with it miserable weather and presaging the winter blues, although to be fair the summer washout means that many people probably wont notice much difference.

Autumn is traditionally a boom time for foreign property investment, as people look towards foreign climes either in search of better weather, in memory of an enjoyable holiday or simply out of a desire to get their transactions completed before the Christmas period.

According to currency exchange specialist Moneycorp, there will be a "surge" of UK residents buying overseas property in the next few months. A spokesman for the company told MoneyMarketing that the number of British investors looking to invest in overseas property can rise by as much as a quarter in the winter months.

Nick Bull said: "Our figures show that the number of people buying abroad has a significant peak in the early autumn as many people use their summer holidays to hunt for their ideal second home. Interest in buying abroad can quickly strengthen after a few weeks back in Britain as the days shorten and the weather takes a turn for the worse, not that it has been great anyhow."

In the last two years, Moneycorp statistics show that the number of Britons with a property asset abroad has gone up from 550,000 to 800,000, with Spain and France retaining their traditional places as first choice for British investors.

A report released earlier this month by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) concluded that the European property market is going from strength to strength and will outperform all expectations for the current financial year.

Rics says that Europe is currently witnessing the fastest-rising purchasing activity growth in the world, outpacing Asia and the USA. Senior economist Oliver Gilmartin says that the recent economic slowdown in the US has meant that "the smart money has been flowing to more lucrative established European shores".

He believes that the trend should carry on for the rest of the year, although he issued a warning to people that are looking at Europe, but considering one of the less-established investment spots.

"With the yield spread on secondary properties driven to historic lows across many markets, investors would be first to re-price secondary stock should risk appetite deteriorate. Investors must be careful to discriminate between those markets where weight of money, as opposed to fundamental factors, are driving short-term gains," he said.

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