The index reveals that enquiries for all key eurozone destinations increased quarter-on-quarter during Q3, with August being an especially strong month. At the same time, enquiries for the USA and Australia stayed level between July and September, and increased marginally for Canada and New Zealand.
Spain is the star of the index, having grown in popularity steadily throughout the year, increasing its share of total enquiries coming into OGC from 16 per cent in Q1 to 22 per cent in Q2 and ended Q3 sharing the number one spot with France, both with 24 per cent.
OGC points out that the euro was at a four-year low against Sterling by the end of July this year and rates have continued to remain favourable for buyers, especially from the UK. It also says that 79 per cent of potential British buyers haven’t been put off of investing in their favourite overseas property location by the current economic crisis.
At Conti, we’re seeing a similar pattern. Buyers have increasingly been sticking to locations they know and trust, which is why France and Spain are topping the list for enquiries we’ve received so far this year, and Portugal is starting to rise in popularity again too.
The euro zone crisis continues, and while this has resulted in austerity measures which have hit market confidence in several countries, the growing strength of the pound against the euro is now boosting the budgets of people in the UK who are looking to buy property in these locations. This together with some bargain property prices and low interest rates, are also making it more affordable. It also helps that these countries offer easy access from the UK, and rental opportunities are good too.