Spain the most popular with Brits

British property investors are still showing considerable interest in buying real estate abroad despite the recession, according to the latest figures from an international search website.

Spain is the number one search destination, pushing France into second place, according to the latest figures from primelocation.com. Bargain prices in Spain are believed to be the reason it has sprung to the top of the list although it has always been very popular with UK investors.

Searches for properties in Spain have increased 27% year on year. The country now accounts for 30.53% of international searches. France is the second most popular with 27% and the US in third place with 14.34%, that's up 87% compared to May 2008 and could be due to bargain properties in Florida.

Searches in Portugal have also increased by 15% since May 08 and by 12% since April 09 while Italy is showing a 13% increase in searches since May 08. Italy is in fourth place with 6.24% of searches, followed by Portugal with 5.93%

Interest in Switzerland has also increased 20% year on year, possibly fuelled by the recent increase in income tax for top earners in the UK

Former popular areas for British investors such as Cyprus and Bulgaria still record only a tiny part of overall searches at 1.26% and 0.75% respectively.

The United Arab Emirates is in sixth place with 1.73%, turkey in eighth place with 1.18% and Australia in ninth place with 0.93%.

'Although the market is slow there are still buyers and investors out there with an interest in certain areas. Many will be looking to take advantage of the reduced property prices,' said Ann Wright, International Development Manager at Primelocation.com.

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