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

Assetz® Property News Service

The growing portfolio

6th August 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

With so many different locations in which Britons are investing, some may wonder just how much is owned by UK investors beyond these shores. Moreover, the question may also be whether this amount is still on the rise, given all the well-documented problems of the credit crunch and the talk of falling living standards.

Research from Savills and Holiday-Rentals has provided an answer today, reports homesoverseas.co.uk. The grand total of value of properties owned is £58 billion, a £5.2 billion rise on last year. Given that some properties in some markets (such as Spain) may have lost value, this indicates that new investment is still taking place on a large scale.

As it happens, Spain is still in its usual top spot on 34 per cent, followed by France, which as usual is second, on 23 per cent. Savills noted as well that demand is still strong, even if it did not expect a big rise in the number of overseas properties in the next few years due to the state of the UK economy. At the same time, it noted that the split between second homes bought for leisure and lifestyle reasons and those purchased primarily as investments is split about 50-50.

What may have hindered some of those buying in France or other European destinations is the value of the pound against the euro. The unfavourable exchange rate has inflated the cost of overseas properties, even if many still remain favourably prices in comparison with equivalent dwellings in the UK.

However, this may be about to change, Ready2Invest magazine reports. It notes that Homes Overseas magazine has reported that foreign exchange company Mercury FX is of the view that the euro could soon see its value fall against the pound. One reason for this will be the deterrent factor of a highly-priced euro. The other is the general downturn in the eurozone economy. Discussing the implications for the property market, Homes Overseas said: "The cost of buying property in the eurozone will fall if the UK pound does indeed strengthen against the single European currency."

If investors are given more euros to buy with, one place they may care to look at is the Lake Annecy area in the Haute-Savoie region of Alpine France. Homes Worldwide describes this locality as "a relatively untapped area with huge property investment potential".
The magazine goes on to state that Annecy offers both water sports and winter skiing, while property specialists MGM Group are planning a new development at Jardins d' Eos in Veyrier du Lac.

So while some may look to the Cote D'Azur and others to the banks of the Seine, the French market can offer plenty else beside the water to Britons whose overseas purchasing activity is continuing to flow.

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

Assetz for Investors UK 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