Spain Still No.1 Property Destination

Spain has reached the top spot yet again as the British number one overseas property destination for 2007.

Figures compiled by the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) have shown that the majority, over 25%, of all overseas properties purchased in 2007 by British buyers were in Spain. The statistics give a clear indication that the Spanish market is still going strong. The report also confirmed property investment in Italy for 2007 grew by nearly 1% on the previous years figure.

The AIPP top ten destinations report included emerging markets Bulgaria and Turkey, showing them as firm 2007 favourites, largely attributable to the very low entry costs and overall property prices on offer.

A spokesperson for AIPP confirmed, "The figures show that around 30-35% of the money spent on overseas property is in emerging markets and the prices in many of these destinations, as an average, are lower than the established markets."

Bulgaria accounted for 6% of the total property purchased abroad by British citizens in 2007, leading to a 30% property price increase in the country. Sofia is tipped to be the country's top earner for 2008 due to the influx of multinational companies relocating to the area and the emergence of a new luxury property market.

Turkey's coastal areas have proved to be a hit with lifestyle and fly-to-let purchasers. Big resorts such as First Choices' Holiday Village and the construction of new aqua parks have added to the attraction. The country’s capital, Istanbul, is seeing increased inflows of investment with a number of new resort style developments incorporating every known facility possible.

James Gonzalez, Market Analyst at Obelisk comments, "Comparing figures to 2006, the average spend per property in 2007 equated to £99,200 - an increase of £1,034 or 1%. This confirms that developers are still selling at competitive levels even though many countries have seen very high growth levels."

Reports from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that 207,000 British citizens left the country in 2006 and approximately 200,000 properties were purchased overseas in the same year.

James Gonzalez adds, "The ONS data is believed to be rather conservative as the information is largely down to the property buyer declaring their purchase. Nevertheless, the ONS data along with the information provided by local and international agents has led the AIPP to estimate a 21% increase in overseas property purchases in 2007. The many thousands of holiday homes and the ever-growing overseas property investment market will sustain the growth in this well performing market sector."