HIFX Global Property Hotspots Report shows France and Spain are still on top

January 2007 monthly Global Property Hotspots Report from currency exchange specialists HiFX is out this week and suggests that old habits die hard with 29% of HiFX’s enquires related to a property purchase in France continuing to top the list of country destinations for currency exchange queries related to purchase of a property abroad. Closely followed in second place by Spain at 26%, together they are the only two countries which managed double digit enquiry figures, no other country was able to generate enquiries above single figures or less.

These findings suggest that despite overseas property news hype over new emerging markets and their potential, both of the property markets in Spain and France continue to have mainstream buyer appeal. This report also tallies with the Association of International Property Professionals ‘The year in international property, 2006’ report which showed that Brits spent 20 billion pounds on international real estate investments in 2006. Over half of UK overseas property buyers bought in countries they already know and are comfortable with from either having been on holiday there or learnt the language at school. 31.6% of UK buyers choose Spain for their homes overseas whilst 18.9% selected France as their property buying location. French property buyers are often well-heeled investors seeking a rural retreat while those buying a property in Spain choose one of its many Costas for a home in the sun.

To further compound the evidence, property research from Scenari Immobiliari Outlook for 2007, revealed Spain enjoyed the highest increase in real estate turnover in Europe last year, showing a growth of eight per cent in 2006, compared with 3.9 per cent in Europe as a whole.

There is little doubt that in the future, property demand for France and Spain will continue to be strong but demand for property in Bulgaria and the USA is not far behind in part due to the appeal of lower property prices.