Free Investment Report

Overseas property investment is an increasingly popular investment vehicle. With the ownership of property overseas expected to double over the next 5 years and the world’s real estate market forecast to grow annually at 13% until 2012, investing in overseas property is an obvious choice.

2007 has demonstrated another year for strong growth of property markets across the globe. Investor confidence has remained as foreign direct investment levels have pursued their upward trajectory hand in hand with substantial property price growth.

Investors have profited greatly from high returns earned from overseas off plan property, and with growth set to continue, property investors can look forward to another year of profitable returns from overseas property markets.

Overseas Investment Guide

Global property markets have shown their highest ever rate of price growth over the last 10 years with current hotspots for property investment located in Brazil, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.

For more information about overseas property investment, please download the full Overseas Property guide.

The Overseas Property Investment Market

Property markets throughout the world have experienced simultaneous boom periods with price growth reaching its highest ever rate over the past decade.

The property market has been stimulated by falling interest rates, innovative credit facilities, and rising incomes creating more available capital for the increasing interest in second home purchase. In many emerging markets supply has struggled to keep pace with escalating demand.

The global economy has remained strong expanding at an annual average rate of 5% for the fourth consecutive year. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), world economic growth was 5.5% in 2006, and is forecast for continued growth of 4.9% for 2007 and 2008. Strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth has also been experienced in emerging and developing economies.

The strength of the global economy has spurred international tourism demand, despite the presence of external factors such as the recent turbulence in financial markets, security issues, and rising oil prices. Predictions from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Tourism Satellite Account Model indicate that the world’s travel and tourism will contribute 10.4% to global GDP in 2007, generating more than US$7 trillion. Over the next decade, this figure is expected to reach over US$13 trillion.

Growth in Second Home Purchases

A study carried out by the Department of Communities and Local Government, one of the most reliable sources of information on the subject, found that the number of British residents purchasing a second property abroad had risen from 129,000 in 2000/2001, to a total of 211,000 in 2006; 34% bought in Spain, 23% in France, 2% in Italy and Portugal and 16% in other European countries. 17% were located in non-European locations with the US the most popular destination.

Irish investors were registered as spending €8.2 billion on overseas property up to September 2007, rising from €6 billion in 2006, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Overseas Property Ownership

A recent study carried out by Datamonitor has forecast that overseas property ownership is set to double over the next five years, with the market forecast to grow at an annual rate of 13% until 2012. The report also stated that British and Irish now own 3.81 million properties in foreign markets, not including time share and fractional ownership.

Property price growth has continued at a stronger rate than Q2 2006 in a number of residential property markets across the globe. Solid growth was noted in Bulgaria over the last year, and Romania saw higher annual price inflation than the same period of the previous year.

 

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Cape Verde
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Dubai
• Egypt
• Greece
• Italy
• Malaysia
• Morocco
• Northern Cyprus
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Thailand
• Turkey