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The Top Property Investment Destinations

The British are well known for their enthusiasm for property investment abroad. A recent survey published in the Telegraph and carried out by Savills and Homeaway.co.uk, a holiday rental company, made some interesting findings.

According to the survey, some 430,000 properties overseas have British owners. France and Spain are by far the most popular destinations with a 25% share each. Another 25% are located in the rest of the Europe.

Buy-to-let continues to be a popular investment option. And this looks set to continue with the current boom in the lettings market. Two-thirds of owners who let their property said 2009 bookings were considerably higher than those in 2008. 

Overseas properties in the survey cover a wide price range, although 75% of homes cost less than £300,000. The current economic climate may well change this tendency as many recent sales to British property investors have been in the top price bracket. According to Savills, “higher-income groups, with the ability to mobilise funds, have been able to take advantage of lower prices in 2009”.

2008 saw a marked decrease in property investment abroad when the number of sales dropped by 22%. This was further accentuated in 2009 when sales fell by 80%. Interest in so-called ‘exotic’ locations such as Cape Verde and Egypt has fallen. On the other hand, buyers are still keen on perennial favourites for property investment such as Spain (particularly the Balearics) and Portugal with the US and Italy close behind.

These areas currently offer plenty of bargains. According to one real estate agent in Italy, prices are now at their lowest with buyers prepared to accept very low offers. The same is also true in most of mainland Spain and areas of the US such as Florida.

These well-known real estate investment spots are not the only places for good value property at the moment. At Obelisk, we believe Latin America currently represents one of the best opportunities with Brazil at the forefront.

Whether you are looking for a lifestyle purchase or pure investment, Brazil fits the bill. When it comes to high returns on your property investment, the Brazil real estate market is widely believed to be at the start of a sharp rise in prices. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2010’ report, “demand in Brazil is locked in, enabling 25% to 30% returns”.

While Spain, Italy and the US might provide well-established property investment destinations, they fall considerably short of this level of return. For this reason, Obelisk believes the best investment opportunities this year are in Brazil.

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