Britons looking to buy a home abroad still flock to France and Spain with three-quarters of all potential buyers seeking out a property in these two old favourites, new findings suggest.
Switzerland and the USA came joint third on the overseas property wish-list with falling property prices and prosperous surroundings triggering an upturn in interest.
With the pound surpassing seven-year highs against the euro above €1.40 this week, and with analysts predicting further the euro weakness, UK buyers are enjoying increasing spending power across Europe.
In the first two months of this year, foreign exchange and cash deposit firm HiFX said that 35 per cent of people in the UK looking to buy a property abroad were focusing their search in France.
The level of interest in properties across the channel has remained the same for the past two years. But, in 2007 and 2008 the onset of the financial crisis hit demand, with only 21 per cent of Brits looking to buy abroad honing in on France.
Relatively low borrowing costs and mortgage rates, alongside its proximity to the UK, makes Spain and France enduringly popular for British house-hunters, HiFX says.
Mark Bodega of HiFX said: ‘Whilst there may be some concern that France is falling behind the rest of the eurozone in terms of economic growth, borrowing costs have tumbled in recent months and mortgage rates are at their lowest in years, meaning that France is currently a real buyers’ market at the moment – and will be for some time’.
Spain remains the other firm favourite with Brits looking to buy a home abroad, equaling France in terms of interest.
Similarly 35 per cent of Britons looking to buy a home overseas have Spain in their sights.
According to HiFX, Spain’s popularity has ‘only fluctuated marginally in the last five years’. When the financial crisis began to unfold in 2007, only 21 per cent of people looking to move overseas asked about properties in Spain, HiFX said.
Over the last few years, some Britons have sold their Spanish homes at a substantial loss as the market continues to favour buyers.
Mr Bodega said: ‘Spain is undoubtedly a popular holiday destination and a vibrant property hub for Brits buying abroad. Not only does a Spanish home come with the promise of sunshine, great food and beautiful views, it’s been enviably cheap to buy property since the 2008 financial crisis, with house prices falling between 40-50% nationally.
‘However, we’re finally seeing signs that the housing slump is on the road to recovery. Property prices declined just -0.2% month on month from December to January this year, compared to -8.3% in January last year and some parts of the country are actually seeing prices rise’.
