Spain tops property league for 10th year
By Kevin Barnett, 04 Mar 2008
Established property markets have fought off strong competition from emerging destinations, according to new figures.
The Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) revealed that during 2007, more than a quarter of Britons who purchased abroad bought a house in Spain.
This placed it top of the buyers premier league and way ahead of France on 17 per cent, while one in ten people opted to purchase a home in the US. Less-established locations including Bulgaria were also found to be attracting interest, and the eastern European country was named as the fourth most popular country among Britons.
Places such as Dubai, Morocco and Turkey were also found to be appealing options for many.
Paul Owen, chief executive of the AIPP, commented: "Some may be surprised to hear that Spain is still at number one as the primary destination for Britons buying property abroad as there has been some negative media coverage over the Spanish property market."
This comes after the European country was named as the top holiday home investment hotspot of the year in a poll by HolidayLettings.co.uk.
Terry Walker of specialists, PropertyInSpain.Net said no-one should be surprised that Spain remained the most popular property buying destination for the tenth successive year. "2008 is the best value year for a decade and buyers appreciate the superior value for money compared with places that have little infrastructure, fewer flights and few holiday amenities.
"More northern European families holiday in sunbelt Spain, so the chances of good rental income are obviously higher with record numbers of flights. That's been the position with Spain for 15 years. Higher rental incomes means lower ownership costs."
PropertyInSpain.Net, founder members of AIPP, are the only Spanish property firm to provide a legal surety on offplan homes.
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