THE RESURGENCE of interest in international property shows no sign of slowing according to the latest Primelocation International Search Index. Searches for international property in January were up by 25% on December and by 134% compared to January last year.
Although France, Spain and Australia received the most searches, emerging market destinations such as Bulgaria and Turkey recording the highest monthly increases of 55% and 60% respectively. The number of searches for Cyprus property was also up by 55%.
Australia shot up to sixth place in January, having not featured in the top ten since October 2009. Most buyers considering the country are likely to be planning a lifestyle rather than an investment purchase and the increased popularity of Australia and some of the less traditional European destinations may also be explained by their warmer climates, attractive at a time when Britain continues to experience a series of cold snaps.
Ann Wright, International Development Manager at Primelocation.com, comments:
“The upsurge in interest in international property shows no sign of abating: January is the third consecutive month to have recorded an annual increase in searches of more than 100%”.
“Initially the upswing was driven by the super-rich and City workers, looking for luxury second homes and residences in lower tax environments, but these latest figures show that the rest of the market is catching up. The strong growth in Australian searches and the comparatively average performance of Switzerland – a favoured destination of the super rich – shows that the market is not being carried along by a small group of potential buyers, but that foreign home ownership is now once again on the agenda for a broad spectrum of the home buying public. And as Britain spent much of January covered by a blanket of snow, it is perhaps not surprising that potential buyers were more attracted to sunny Australia than the Alps.”
“The strong performance of countries in the lower half of the list suggests that a renewed sense of confidence is now beginning to filter through and the market is less dependent on top-end buyers.”
I would think that most of the people doing searches at International property sites at the moment are merly “Window Shopping” due to interest of how far their cash will go now since the downturn of the various countries financial assets.
In regards to the Cyprus property searches I would have thought that it is too early for prospective buyers to buy Cyprus property (unless it comes with the proper title deeds and no encumbrances on it), as none of the problems are solved yet. Trust and confidence is not here yet?
Regards.
I will be interested to know if these figures of resurgence take into account the amount of people that may only be comparing prices as a guide to the value of their own property with a view to sell.