Overseas Property

The area of overseas property for sale and homes overseas has become a worldwide business over the past decade, with thousands of people from all nationalities ready and eager to move from traditional homestead areas to pastures new around the world.

Recently, the Office of National Statistics announced that over 190,000 Britons left the UK in 2004 to live abroad – that’s an increase of over 9 per cent on the previous year. Factors that have contributed to the UK’s growing trend of owning a holiday home abroad include:

• higher earnings – higher national wages
• a rise in UK property values – many people have used the equity in their existing property to buy abroad
• low-cost airlines – the cheaper flights offered by ‘no-frills’ airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have opened up cheaper travel options
• poor pension performance – many people have taken control of their pension funds to manage personally on buying property abroad
• the UK property ladder – many young people are turning to overseas property in an attempt to get on to the first rung of the property ladder as the UK market spirals out of their reach
• lower cost of living – in most countries abroad the cost of living is cheaper than in the UK.

The list above is by no means exhaustive, but shows the main reasons why British people have continued to invest in overseas property over the past decade.

A recent UK government report also discovered that there was a 250 per cent increase between 2000 and 2004 in the number of Britons buying property abroad solely for investment purposes. This trend does not seem to be limited to the UK, nor does it seem to be slowing down!

The global stock markets seem to be in decline; there is a worldwide pensions crisis looming; we have uncertainty in the Middle East; in the UK, the housing market is unaffordable, possibly over-inflated and unlikely to bring significant returns for investors late in on the game. For these reasons, more and more of us are looking further afield for our investment opportunities. This has led us to look around the world for the ‘next big thing’: the next property boom.

Invest4avilla receives hundreds of enquiries each month from prospective purchasers of overseas property. Investors and people keen to get a foot on the ladder in new and emerging property markets abroad have perhaps gained the biggest growth over the years. However, with new areas like Bulgaria, the Bahamas, Croatia, Latvia, Estonia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Romania and more coming to the market there are still numerous opportunities for would-be property investors buying abroad.

Make sure that you can take advantage of the rising property market before and after you leave the service.

The University of Westminster

in association with

Invest4avilla presents:

‘Understanding the Property Investment Business’

One-week Foundation Course: Level 3/Level 4 programme on the National Qualification Framework. Last Course date for 2006: 27 November–1 December (spaces available).

A perfect opportunity to take things further and perhaps start up your own international property business. Full support package available from Invest4avilla.

Visit: www.invest4avilla.com/courses