UK First-Time Buyers Choosing to Invest Abroad

First-time buyers in the UK are increasingly making their first house purchase overseas, after finding themselves priced out of the UK market, according to the latest ‘Quarterly Savings Survey’ released by National Savings and Investments and reported in The Observer.

The trend for UK buyers getting onto the property ladder by purchasing abroad has been noted by Conti Financial Services, an overseas mortgage specialist. The company has noticed a rise in the proportion of their business coming from first-time buyers, as well as an increase in the number of enquiries received since Eastern European countries Bulgaria and Romania have joined the EU.

The ‘Quarterly Savings Survey’ found that a quarter of first-time buyers questioned would consider moving abroad in order to save for a deposit to buy in Britain, and a fifth would consider moving to Eastern Europe. Of the different age groups included in the survey, it was found that younger buyers were most likely to consider moving abroad, with over a third of 25-34s willing to relocate. Just under a third of 35-44s would be willing to relocate.

This raises the question of whether, having bought a property abroad and lived there for a number of years, this new generation of first-time buyers would still wish to return to the UK, as opposed to continuing to invest their money overseas where the same money can often buy a larger house in a prime location.