Overseas property market set to double by 2012

Permalink: Overseas property market set to double by 2012
by Gill Montia

Datamonitor, the business intelligence company, has published new research in which it found that British and Irish citizens own up to 3.81 million homes abroad. (The figure excludes time share and fractional ownership schemes.)

Around 1.21 million of the properties belong to people who are both citizens of the UK and Ireland and also resident in those countries.

In 2006, the total overseas property market was worth approximately £44.4 billion and UK and Irish estate agents expect annual growth of around 13% between 2006 and 2012.

Based on these figures, the size of the overseas property market could double in six years.

The number of younger buyers entering the market is increasing and amongst this group the motivation for purchasing a property is both to enjoy personal use and benefit from an investment.

However, in the Datamonitor survey, over 70% of respondents claimed their purchases were made to improve their lifestyles.

Long-term favourite destinations such as Spain, the US and France, are still proving popular but younger buyers are increasingly showing an interest in locations further afield.

So called exotic markets, such as Brazil, Egypt and Croatia are all gaining popularity.

Datamonitor carried out the research between June and September this year. The survey is one of largest carried out in the UK and Ireland into the overseas property market.