With the start of a new year, it’s somewhat traditional to look ahead and explore where overseas property buyers are likely to be looking this year.

With the pound currently weak against the Euro, this is already having an impact on the expense of travel. As a knock-on effect, experts are predicting that people will be looking further afield than the traditional Euro-zone countries this year, both for holidays and property buying. For example, countries such Egypt, Morocco and Turkey all offer better value for money for travellers, so may prove a good option for foreign property holiday lets.

According to ABTA, they saw a significant increase in demand for holidays abroad to Egypt in 2008, with interest rising by 38%. Interest in Turkey wasn’t far behind, with an increase by 32%. It’s also worth nothing that airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have increased the frequency of their flights to Morocco and Turkey in the last 18 months.

In a similar vein, some of the countries being highlighted by various experts as looking promising in 2009 include Panama, Brazil and Malaysia. Panama, in Latin America, has already been experiencing a surge in popularity, especially with US and now UK buyers, as it’s a major location for international businesses. Property-wise, there’s a good choice of options available, whether you want to live in the heart of the city or right by the sea, and it’s got the bonus of having good tax laws.

Brazil is another country that’s also been growing in popularity recently. A lot of investment has been going on in the country, including a new airport in Natal and numerous golf courses. It’s the northeast area of the country that’s most accessible for UK visitors, but when the near airport is open, accessibility will be improved even more.

In comparison, Malaysia, in south-east Asia, is more of a newcomer to those interested in international property. But some people believe we’ll be hearing more about in the coming year.

Wherever you’re thinking of buying, remember to do your homework, avoid buying blind and carefully check out the area you’re considering before parting with your well earned cash. Happy investing!

international property market

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Buying. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.