The organisers of A Place in the Sun Live at London’s Earls Court 2 recently, claim the 9,000 people who visited the show indicates that the British desire to buy property abroad remains strong even in financially difficult times.

But this claim has been contradicted by the founder of the website look4aproperty.com who says he believes the steady exit of Brits from the overseas property market has now become a mass exodus.

Andy Bridge, the MD of A Place in the Sun said: “The industry has been short of good news so it’s pleasing to see a proper event take place and for serious people to turn up. The UK is certainly a resilient market.

“The show delivered a rare opportunity for agents and developers to meet buyers face-to-face, and with fewer exhibitors than previous years there were more visitors per stand than at previous events.

“Most exhibitors made good use of the positive atmosphere in the hall to harvest leads and sign people up to inspection trips, reporting strong levels of interest from visitors who knew what they wanted and had the means to buy it.”

But Aaron Turner, CEO and founder of look4aproperty.com says overseas home buying is down by 80 percent.

He said: “There have been reports that the overseas market is doing well, but the truth is that market is looking pretty dead. Eighty per cent is a huge drop. People should not be fooled by reports claiming searches are up. They may be, but people are no longer serious about buying overseas. It’s all window shopping.

“We have seen a 28 per cent rise in UK property enquiries over the same period. People are prioritising the roof over their heads rather than buying second homes in France and Spain.”

• Fly to Let buyers are looking closer to home for holiday homes and investment property in the current climate suggests latest figures from The Move Channel.

Although America came out in the number one position in the company’s Top of the Props list last month, the majority of countries in the top 10 were relatively close to the UK.

Although Italy, who bagged the previous month’s number one spot, was knocked of the top, it remained in the top three as it still has the big selling point of no capital gains tax on profits from investment property, thus creating maximum returns on investment.

Calabria in Southern Italy has soared in popularity of late, thanks in part to the recent introduction of direct flights from the UK to local airports at Reggio de Calabria and Kamezia.

Spain ranked in second place due to its continuing popularity although the property boom has declined leaving developers with apartments and villas they are desperate to sell creating opportunities for investors looking to snap up a bargain.

France took fourth place in March’s Top of the Props chart. The most recent figures released by the French Tourism Ministry show that 82 million foreign tourists visited France last year.

The current worldwide economic climate has already seen more British people look to holiday nearer to home and therefore an investment French property will likely have very strong rental potential.

The high-speed Eurostar service from Waterloo and St Pancras stations has resulted in a substantial increase in accessibility to France and visitor numbers have increased alongside this.

© Fly2Let.net Ltd 2011 l Terms of use l Contact l Free Subscription l Webmaster
Brazil l Bulgaria l Canada l Cape Verde l Croatia l Cyprus l Dubai l Egypt l France l Germany l Hungary l India l Italy l Morocco l Portugal l Romania l Slovakia
South Africa l Spain l Thailand l Turkey l UK l USA l Other Countries
Investment Property l Off Plan Developments l Ski Property l City Apartments l Golf Property l Beach Front Property l Land Investment
Cheap Flights l Car Hire l Property Finance l Property Insurance l Travel Insurance l Property Maintenance l Overseas Removals l Currency Exchange l Exhibitions & Seminars