Holiday property investment

Buying properties abroad can be nerve-wracking, especially in today’s economic climate. The fact that you will be dealing with a wholly different market from the UK, and you have little interaction or immersion with different areas, can make selecting and committing money to a property incredibly daunting. Now is the best time to start considering making an investment in holiday property though. The Great British Pound is slowly growing in strength against the Euro, in fact buyers can expect to buy 25% more Euros per pound than they could three years ago, when the exchange rate was almost equal. It means that you get a lot more for your money. This is coupled with a housing crash in many European countries. Spain in particular is a hotspot for those looking to purchase a holiday home. Due to the severe economic downturn in the country, house prices have plummeted, with some Spanish banks offering some properties discounted up to 70% against their 2008 price. Head of Savills

For those of you living the dream, with a lovely home abroad on some sunny section of paradise who are planning on leaving the Great British summer of grey clouds and rain (why would you want to go?!) The Telegraph, great British paper that it is, now provides a service for expatriates to discuss news abroad and connect with other British nationals living overseas – MyExpat The service has been running for some time now and has gained quite a following, and it’s perfect for finding out if you want to find out whether moving abroad is right for you, or meeting new people that live in the same area as you. It has great tips for dealing with overseas education, health and finance issues and it’s kept up to date by the people living abroad who have been through it all before and who know what information you need, people who are living through it now and keeping up to date with everything going on in the countries that can affect expats. You can use the service to streamline your m

Property markets have been fluctuating all year. Some countries fared better than other but for the most part, countries saw a slight drop in property value. For those of you who own property abroad, or are considering it, here are the 5 countries that bucked the trend and prospered followed by the worst hit areas to have an estate (all figures are adjusted for inflation by Global Property Guide). THE BEST Sao Paulo, Brazil Year-on-year gain: 15.56% Norway Year-on-year gain: 6.26% Delhi, India Year-on-year gain: 6.23% Germany Year-on-year gain: 5.34% Switzerland Year-on-year gain: 4.86% The gains are incredibly impressive, and reassuring for the economies of those countries. Brazil’s development is obviously the most impressive, with the market growing far beyond anywhere else in the world. These places are great for holiday properties, if you want to purchase one you’ll have to pay more but can be confident that you’ll see a rise in the value of your chosen p