Its newest data reports that overall some 58.07% of destinations saw a rise in searches in February and 41.80% saw a fall in searches, while 0.13% of destinations saw no change in the number of searches.
Ireland now the seventh most searched for destination, Australia is still very popular, most notably Tasmania, Northern Territory and Brisbane and alpine locations in France also saw an increase in interest at the height of the ski-ing season.
The Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta saw a fall in searches, as did property in Greece and parts of the United States, particularly Florida. The United Arab Emirates fell out of the top 20 and was replaced with South Africa.
‘February saw traffic to Rightmove Overseas remain steady after the New Year surge, as users continue to search for properties abroad. Ireland, with its close ties to the UK, cheap flights and large numbers of properties for sale at vastly reduced rates, it is no wonder British buyers are interested,’ said Shameem Golamy, Head of Rightmove Overseas.
The most popular Irish locations are the southern counties of Cork and Wexford, where you a traditional two bedroom cottage can be found from €45,000.
‘Other English speaking destinations that continued to do well are the Commonwealth destinations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, which traditionally see a surge in immigration interest this time of year. This seems to be at the expense of Florida, with searches for the sunshine state dropping 30% month on month,’ added Golamy.
Charles Purdy, managing director of Smart Currency Exchange, said it is a tough time for Brits buying abroad as Sterling has fallen considerably against the major currencies, most notably the US dollar and the euro.
‘February was another busy month with sterling’s weakness continuing to boost transfers both ways. Individuals buying were keen to secure their currency before sterling weakened even more and those selling up and returning to the UK wanted to use sterling’s weakness to offset any discount they had incurred when selling their property,’ he explained.
He pointed out that those buying made great use of forward contracts. ‘These are easier to use and understand than the name suggests as a forward contract allows you to secure an exchange rate for an agreed amount and period, thereby reducing the risk of having to find additional funds to buy that dream overseas property, the last thing you want to happen,’ he added.
The outlook for currencies is unlikely to suddenly change. ‘In the short to medium term sterling is unlikely to see much upside against most currencies as the UK’s economy continues to suffer and could even loose further ground. Therefore it may well make sense to secure your funds using a forward contract,’ said Purdy.