Overseas homes in eastern Europe gain popularity

Tuesday, 23 January 2007 12:00 AM

Brits buying homes overseas are increasingly turning to properties in eastern Europe, new research reveals.

Currency specialist HIFX's first annual global report into Brits buying homes abroad finds the level of interest in the traditional hotspots of France and Spain is going down year on year.

This contrasts with a doubling or tripling of interest in emerging property locations such as Bulgaria, Dubai, Cape Verde and Canada since 2005.

"Owning an overseas property is no longer the preserve of the wealthy and as a result we're beginning to see the commoditisation of the overseas property markets," commented Mark Bodega, of HIFX.

"In many cases the emerging markets offer property which is significantly less expensive than the traditional favourites. As property prices have continued to rise dramatically in the UK over the last 12 months, combined with rising interest rates, we've seen the overseas property market open up and become accessible to more of the UK population."

The report finds British buyers are became more adventurous in 2006 due to cheap prices in emerging markets and an increasing trend in buying overseas homes for investment rather than holidays.

Cheap property prices in emerging markets such as Hungary and Poland still offer excellent value for money despite significant price increases in 2006. Many in the industry expect this to continue through 2007, HIFX explained.

"As people look to where they can make the most money and returns, they are more likely to look away from the traditional markets to areas of expansion and new development," said Mr Bodega.

"We've seen properties in the emerging markets snapped up by investors in 2006. Bulgaria remains a popular investment destination with investors keen to cash in when it joined the EU and we're seeing a consistent amount of interest in Romania for the same reason."

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