Increase in overseas property searches

People are increasingly searching for property overseas with the latest Rightmove report showing that 51.45% of locations saw an increase in March.

It also found that 48.49% of locations saw a decrease in property searches and 0.06% saw no change.

Interest in Australian property remains strong but old favourite Spain dominates the search report with 22% of all searches. There is also more interest in Turkey which climbs two places in the Rightmove Overseas table but Switzerland drops to 20th spot.

‘Following new year’s surge of interest in overseas property, strong demand continues with 2.8 million searches performed on site for a second month in a row,’ said Shameem Golamy, head of Rightmove Overseas.

‘Long haul destinations like Australia and India remain at the forefront of buyer’s minds. India, now a regular in the top 20 is popular with non-resident Indians (NRI’s) wanting to move or invest back home,’ he added.

He also pointed out that widely reported political turmoil in Italy appears to have led to property hunter’s attention away from Italy and towards other European states. In February four out of the top 10 falling regions were in Italy and overall searches for Italy fell by 12%. Despite nervousness around the Spanish economy in recent weeks, property buyers are undeterred, with Fuertuventura, Valencia, Benalmádena and Torrevieja all increasing in searches by over 20% respectively.
 
‘Other positive news comes from Turkey, which benefits from uncertainty surrounding the Euro countries and buyers looking for non-euro opportunities,’ said Golamy.

Charles Purdy, managing director of Smart Currency Exchange, said there has been a corresponding increase in enquiries for international payment services which are 25% ahead of last year.
 
The eurozone is very popular as sterling hovers around the €1.20/£1 level, close to its highest level of the last three years. The quality of the enquiries is also good which shows a level of confidence not seen in previous years,’ he explained.