Holiday bookings to Portugal are expected to be comparable to pre-crisis figures seen in 2007 according to data from tourist organisations and airline operators. Cash buyers are the main investors in property according to Portugal based agent Infinito Real, and MD Stephen Anderson believes the increase in tourism could be the... MORE

Interest in Barcelona short-term rentals remained healthy during the traditionally slower winter period according to the latest property market report on the Spanish city by Lucas Fox International Properties. The report, which covers the third and fourth quarters of 2010 said that there are strong signs that Barcelona property had managed to avoid the decline seen... MORE

Estonia has seen a 41 percent increase in the number of UK visitors with record numbers recorded in Q1 2011. Plus, more than 259,000 visitors stayed in tourist accommodation between January and March this year, a 19 percent rise compared to the same time last year which could well be attributed to the fact that Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city, has been voted... MORE

Fly to let owners with properties in Spanish seaside destinations will be on the crest of a wave after the country was awarded more Blue Flags than any other destinations in Europe. The Blue Flag programme is a highly regarded international award recognises beaches that can demonstrate water quality, cleanliness... MORE

Darragh MacAnthony, the owner of Peterborough Football Club, which has just fought its way into the Championship, is facing his own battle over allegations that he misappropriated funds from an overseas holiday home property investment company. His company MacAnthony Realty International (MRI) has been named in a legal dispute in Spain. MORE

Despite the negative publicity surrounding the title deeds drama in Cyprus, one of the country’s property specialists still maintains it is one of the most sought after places to buy a holiday home. Kim Brown, director of www.overseasguidescompany.com knows that many potential fly to let investors will have undoubtedly... MORE

Savvy fly to let investors who have been keeping an eye on the real estate market in Florida have been able to snap up prime properties at bargain prices right at the beginning of the recovery in order to make maximum returns. The Florida market has been in decline since the boom years of 2006/7 however Property Frontiers believe that the sunshine... MORE

A proposal to introduce a 20 percent tax on second homes in France owned by foreign residents, designed to be a vote winner for the government, would have the counter effect of deterring much needed investment from overseas says property experts... MORE

Owners of Spanish properties are being forced to dramatically cut their asking prices to attract purchasers claim recent media reports. It is estimated there are close to 600,000 homes on the market looking for a buyer and another 200,000 developments still waiting to be completed... MORE

Istanbul has become the number one city for new property acquisitions and development says the latest Emerging Trends in Real Estate Report Europe from PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Turkey’s largest city emerged as the best place to buy property in Europe according to a survey of some 600 real estate professionals... MORE

Prospective and existing property investors in France can take advantage of a new joint venture between Conti, the UK overseas mortgage specialist, and CAFPI, the French mortgage broker. Together they have created Conti France which the companies say is uniquely placed to offer more choice, even better service and the best possible deals to Britons seeking finance for... MORE

A new Virgin Atlantic direct service to Grenada, will give another tourism boost to the Caribbean Island. Although the Monday and Thursday direct flight service doesn’t start until 31 October, fly to let holiday home customers can start booking now if they wish. The new flights will create a total of five UK departures from London Gatwick to Grenada each week with... MORE

Fly to let owners with properties in Spain have seen an increase in tourism during the first three months of this year although those using privately owned or family homes fell by 0.5 percent according to figures from the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. The statistics published by the Frontur opinion poll showed that nine... MORE

The booming Italian tourism market means there are currently plenty of fly to let investment opportunities to be had and large profits to be made, claims Experience International. Italy’s focus on attracting tourists from emerging markets in 2010 saw visitor numbers increase by 2.2 percent compared to the... MORE

Brazilian property is not just a good investment, it’s also a safe one, thanks to Brazil’s well-developed legal system, strong democracy and welcoming policies designed to attract overseas investors. This is the view of property specialist Brazil Bahia Property (IBBI) following a decision by credit agency Fitch to upgrade Brazil’s local and foreign currency debt to BBB from... MORE

Property sales in Turkey to foreign overseas buyers were up 40 percent in 2010 reported the Turkish Real Estate Investing Partners Association (GYODER) at a recent press conference. The organisation says that these figures disclosed in its ‘The Real Estate Sector of Turkey and The World, Fourth Quarter 2010’ report, clearly... MORE

The Chinese government has decided to ban all foreign investment in the construction and management of villas in an attempt to stem record high property prices and control inflation in the country. The ‘Catalogue Guiding Foreign Investment in Industry’ guidelines, which were last revised in 2007, previously listed foreign investment as ‘restricted’. But it has now been moved into the ‘prohibited’ category. MORE

It will be business as usual in Portugal’s housing market, despite the proposed economic bailout, according to a report by the Overseas Property Professional (OPP) organisation. A financial package estimated to be in the region of €80bn is being put together by the EU after Portugal asked for urgent assistance in dealing with its... MORE

An action group has been set by property investors from the UK who believe they were mis-sold apartments and villas in and around the proposed Larnaca Golf course in Tersefanou, Cyprus. The Larnaca Golf Property Action Group (LGPAG) is investigating whether its members have been victims of ‘overselling’. MORE

A government investigation into five companies connected to what has been described as ‘dubious property investment schemes’ in the UK and Spain were recently ordered into liquidation by a High Court. Company Investigations (CI), part of the Insolvency Service, carried out research into the businesses. MORE

Spanish holiday homes continue to dominate demand during the summer with the Balearics doing particularly well reports the Holiday Lettings website. But it is Malta that is benefiting from the greatest growth in demand with a 29 percent year on year increase in demand for Maltese farmhouses. MORE

Overseas property investors looking to buy in Portugal and existing fly to let holiday home owners in the Algarve will be encouraged by the fact low fare airline, Jet2, is adding two new UK routes to and from Faro Airport. The flights will start in April 2011, increasing its total capacity to more than 300,000 seats. MORE

The Italian destination of Calabria, which has been known by many names throughout the centuries, including the land of wine, the City of Bronze; the Coast of the Gods, is now firmly establishing itself as a property investment hot-spot. Up until recently it was one of Italy’s best-kept secrets, but Calabria is increasing in popularity among people looking... MORE

Property investors are snapping up properties in Orlando via banking controlled foreclosures and short sales rather than using estate agents. These investors are currently responsible for 75 percent of the purchases made in the American state, according to the January 2011 sales figures from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA), with just... MORE

British fly to let investors who bought properties in Spain, only to find the developer had built them illegally or that the constructor had gone bust, received some encouraging news recently. At the end of December, Spain introduced reforms to the Criminal Code which increase the penalties for town planning crimes and prevent the... MORE

UK investors, faced with the recent downturn in the UK economy and property scene, will do well to weigh up developed versus emerging markets, the so-called ‘PIGS’ - Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain - and ‘BRICs’’ - Brazil, Russia, India, China. This is the advice from overseas experts Property Venture who also says investors should... MORE

City law firm Healys LLP has announced that it will be working in association with the Limassol-based Cyprus firm L.G Zambartas LLC to advise on claims of mis-selling in the Cyprus property market. The arrangement is part of the drive by Healys to become the leading UK firm to offer legal services to the Cyprus market in... MORE

Owners and prospective buyers of French property may find it possible to save considerable sums of money through claiming tax relief called Capital Allowances on furnished holiday let properties. The tax relief known as Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) has been under government scrutiny with plans to tighten up the tax rules. Finally draft legislation has been published setting out... MORE

Fly to let customers visiting the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh have been largely unaffected by the current troubles being reported in Egypt and the area is said to be calm. But this is in complete contrast to other locations including Suez, North Sinai, Rafah, the Delta region and some areas of Upper Egypt, including Luxor where there have been violent demonstrations. MORE

A company that specialises in helping the victims of property scams recover their deposits is turning its attention to Bulgaria by offering a new low-fee service. Daren Wallbank, Director of ReclaimYourDeposit.com explains: “Bulgaria has proven to be a bit of a minefield for exploitative estate agents and double-dealing developers. MORE

With stories still emerging from Spain about embittered property investors who have lost millions of pounds in deposits for non-existent second homes, a legal lifeline has emerged from a Cantabrian courthouse. The judge deemed the bank responsible for protecting a client’s funds, Caja Cantabria, as having failed in its duty and ordered them to issue a full refund of both deposit and... MORE

A massive increase in bargain hunters snapping up heavily discounted properties in markets like Florida and Atlanta, as well as increasing investment in emerging markets like Brazil, Egypt and Turkey, has helped one London based property agent to achieve a record breaking year for overseas sales... MORE

With more than a dozen UK overseas property investor pressure groups lobbying for compensation on a wide variety of holiday home scams in Spain, the British government has decided it needs to appoint a special overseas property advisor. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Spain, explained: “Although the UK government has no... MORE

South Africa has been formally asked to join the BRIC group of major emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa’s inclusion into what will now be referred to as BRICS will commence in 2011. Even prior to the BRICS announcement, South Africa has been enjoying a surge in property investment from overseas property investors looking... MORE

Despite being a legal requirement, only half of the bank guarantees ‘issued’ in Spain actually exist, claims ReclaimYourDeposit.com. The company says this discovery will heap yet more misery on property investors who have been unable to take possession of their holiday homes, who lost the deposit they shelled out to buy it and now have no means of recovering their losses. MORE

For over half of Britons, France is the number one choice for a skiing holiday and this attracts overseas fly to let investors to the country looking to capitalise on the wintersports market that is worth billions of pounds. But with hundreds of resorts dotted across the Alps... MORE

While most recent reports about Spain’s property market have been about the collapse, news is now merging that the volume of Spanish property sold increased by 13 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year according to figures out this week from The Spain Property Registry. MORE

Fly to let owners and their customers are facing further disruption at the hands of British Airways after its staff announced they maybe going on strike again. Recent reports circulating in the media suggest crew strike action may be on the cards because a long-serving member of staff has been punished for organising a... MORE

A healthy 32,000 overseas property buyers from the UK have now invested in Turkey according to recent figures from the Turkish General Directorate of Land Registry. And with plans now approved for the country’s biggest ever airport to be built on the outskirts of Istanbul, it will be easier than ever for fly to let customers to access... MORE

Landlords with fly to let properties in the US will be concerned to hear analysts believe the current recession there rivals the real estate downturn of the Great Depression. US property prices have fallen for the 17th consecutive quarter, according to new figures. MORE

Speedy overseas investors could grab a bargain in Spain as a fund to buy repossessed property from banks and sell it on has been launched. The initiative aims to give investors a return on their €30,000 minimum stake by buying distressed property, cleaning it up, and then selling it on quickly. MORE

Disturbing reports are warning that developers, estate agents, lawyers and banks in Cyprus have been infringing a little-known EU Directive that could have massive implications for the Cyprus property sector. According to Cyprus Property News (CPN): “Thousands of buyers of property in Cyprus are facing the threat of a bank chasing... MORE

The Spanish property market may have turned an all important corner according to the latest figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) which reported a 29.6 percent increase in sales in August 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. The British love affair with Spanish property was unfortunately interrupted by economy and banking crises back in 2008. MORE

Overseas property purchases in France are on the up after mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels since the Second World War last month. Brokers have reported an increase in the number of large loan deals being arranged over the past few months and say the weak sterling has also made it more efficient for UK buyers to... MORE

The Property Investor Show & OPP Live has returned to London’s Excel this week boasting an even bigger programme packed with 40 seminar speakers and more than 175 expert exhibitors. Last year the annual show drew a crowd of almost 6,000 high-end and first time investors, savvy second-home buyers and the property trade... MORE

Fly to let investments are ripe for the picking in Florida as property prices drop and sales numbers rise across the Sunshine State. Orlando Regional Realtor Association has reported average home prices dropped to a low of $99,900 in August and sales prices are down 22 percent from last year. MORE

Two companies are reporting that interest in buying property overseas is on the rise. Oxfordshire-based property investment company the Worldwide Property Group (WPG) shows activity is at its highest level since April of this year. And Portugal-based group Infinito Real has seen a 300 percent rise in enquiries in just... MORE

There is going to be an enormous buyer interest in Turkey claims a new Global Property Guide report. The report states that property values tend to appreciate in countries that have sound macro-economic management, falling interest rates, growing mortgage markets and a background of rapid economic growth and rising tourist interest. MORE

Holiday homeowners in Bermuda who were expecting their properties to be damaged by Hurricane Igor were relieved when it failed to hit the island with the deadly force everyone was expecting. But potential rental income was hit when tourists were told to evacuate and boarded flights home before the airport closed on Saturday. MORE

Portugal holiday homeowners benefited from a last minute summer rush in August according to Holidaylettings.co.uk. Forty percent of enquiries sent last month for holidays in Portugal were for August holiday dates, a further third were for September dates. However it was fly to let owners in Spain and the UK who saw the most bookings with... MORE

Foreign demand for properties in Cyprus over the first eight months of this year has been disappointing says Cyprus Property News CPN). According to figures released by the Department of Lands and Surveys, 127 contracts of sale in favour of overseas buyers were deposited at Land Registries throughout Cyprus during August compared to the 167 deposited during... MORE

August has again proved to be a highly active month in the foreign property market according to Rightmove Overseas. The firm saw a 12 percent jump in activity from July’s figures as potential fly to let landlords and second home buyers returned from holidays abroad with dreams of purchasing a place in the sun. MORE

Overseas mortgage specialist Conti claims potential fly to let investors can now get access to some of the best available overseas property deals and mortgages thanks to its new website. The firm has launched Conti Property this week, a new online service that is designed to showcase ‘carefully chosen deals from agents, developers and... MORE

As French fixed rate mortgages hit historic lows, mortgage specialist Athenamortgaes.com is offering overseas property investors its lowest-ever fixed rate deals. The French firm is offering 15-year fixed rates from 3.30 percent, 20-year fixed rates from 3.45 percent and 25-year fixed rates from 3.60 percent, with all of these at 80 percent LTV. MORE

Fly to let customers on North Carolina islands in the US are among the 5,000 tourists having to evacuate the area to escape a powerful hurricane heading their way. Holiday home owners will also be concerned about how much damage their properties will suffer as it is predicted the high winds are likely to cause massive waves along the popular coastline. MORE

Luxury fly to let properties in the Greek islands are being marked down by as much as 45 percent as the country’s continuing debt crisis causes higher real estate taxes. A half built villa on Mykonos, an island in the Aegean Sea known for its all beach parties, is being offered by brokers at Athens-based Ploumis for... MORE

Owners of fly to let properties and their customers will be relieved to hear the BAA strike at several UK airports now looks to have been averted. Thousands of workers at six airports had threatened to walk out in a row over pay. However a deal has now been struck that will see them gain a two percent rise and a lump sum of... MORE

The condo market is thriving in Miami, Florida as holiday homes are being snapped up at the rate of 500 a month. Condo Vultures reports this is the impressive amount of apartment traded in Greater Downtown Miami each month between April and June this year. MORE

The Turkish property investment scene is becoming a big topic with one expert now saying the credit crunch actually did the country a big favour. Tourism is continuing to perform well in Turkey despite falling on a global scale and property prices are also low. The Global Property Guide has recommended the country as the best place to... MORE

Property investors are getting a better return in South America, Asia and Eastern Europe according to the RICS Global Property Survey. Apart from in the recession hit UK and Eurozone countries, occupier demand is rising in the majority of nations across the globe. Although significantly, France is... MORE

Fly to let investors will soon be able to take a look at final plans for the brand new five-star resort on Ponta Preta Beach on the west coast of Sal Island, Cape Verde. The developer predicts that fly to let investors who buy units off-plan can expect an annual capital growth of up to nine percent for the next five years and rental yields of 13 to 22 percent. MORE

The benchmarking used for Spanish banks during the recent EU Stress Tests published recently is flawed according to Gregory Butcher, chairman of Ocean Village Gibraltar. The tests were carried out to assess whether banks will be able to survive future economic shocks. A total of 27 Spanish banks were subject to... MORE

The last few remaining two and three bed units at the Village at Town Centre (VTC) will provide a unique opportunity for Fly to let investors says Property Frontiers. The company claims the apartments, which are on sale from $ 67,900 Potential to generate 100 percent on capital investment – excluding rental income! MORE

Infinito Real, a Portugal based group of property investors, has seen a growing number of clients searching for mortgage deals that involve putting little or no money down in order to purchase a property. Although these types of deals have always been difficult to obtain, Stephen Anderson, Managing Director of Infinito Real... MORE

Recent research has found an increase in people looking to purchase foreign holiday homes. March 2010 saw a 48 per cent increase in prospective international buyers taking their mortgage quotes thorough to application stage. MORE

A ‘collapse’ of the Chinese property market is being predicted as fears abound over whether the country can keep up with its rapid growth.
Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard University professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), suspects there will soon be bad news for property investors in the affluent... MORE

Fly to let owners with homes in Dubai will soon have better travel links to the country with the opening of a second airport. This will provide a boost to the fly to let market in Dubai which is currently in a slump. The first phase launch comes three weeks after its flagship carrier Emirates placed a major order for Airbus 380 super jumbos... MORE

Fly to let customers and owners visiting popular holiday destinations in the Eurozone will see their money go further in the current climate, but not so far in the US. The latest Holiday Costs Barometer from Post Office Travel Money reports that prices have plunged by as much as 42 percent year on year in top Eurozone destinations, led by Portugal and Spain. But in sharp contrast, the barometer shows a 31 percent rise in US prices for the 10... MORE

Rental incomes will continue to rise for landlords with property investments in Australia because of a lack of supply, according to economic forecasters. However fewer first time buyers and increasing interest rates will result in slower residential property price growth, as reported in the Residential Property Prospects Report... MORE

Investors looking for a fly to let bargain in Spain are snapping up properties at knock down prices as the pound strengthens against the euro. Sterling has been performing well against the European currency over the last week and climbed to around €1.21 to £1, compared to almost €1 to £1 a couple of months ago. MORE

St Lucia, part of the Windwards Islands chain in the West Indies, is luring would-be fly to let owners with plans for a new airport terminal and upscale facilities such as a new casino -the first for the island - a multi-million pound shopping mall and super-yacht marina. The Government has announced plans to construct the new... MORE

There has been an increase in property prices in 19 out of 36 countries during the year to end Q1 2010 according to the Global Property Guide’s (www.globalpropertyguide.com) latest survey of official house price statistics which, says the company, proves the global housing bust is effectively over... MORE

Fly to let owners and customers using the services of British Airways over the next month – including the busy half term holiday - could be forgiven for not knowing if they are coming or going due to the on-off strike action by cabin crew members of the Unite Union. The bad news is there are still some doubts whether they will be coming or... MORE

The return of the volcanic ash cloud to parts of the UK this week has caused more air travel chaos for fly to let businesses and holiday plans in general. It has also focused attention on who is responsible for looking after and accommodating stranded passengers unable to make their return journey at the... MORE