More Brits buying property abroad

Foreign Property

British retirees are choosing to invest in overseas property at an ever increasing rate, new research has shown.

The Digital Property Group has discovered that Brits are rampantly buying up properties in Europe, and that around 2 million Brits now spend all their time abroad.

Nigel Lewis from The Digital Property Group said: “1.2 million British expats are retired or semi-retired, of which 400,000 are in Spain, and 200,000 in France. The remaining 350,000 are either on holiday, second home owners or ‘investors’, but it’s hard to separate these two as many people treat their overseas properties both as somewhere to go on holiday and somewhere to earn income from.”

Ann Wright from Prime Location added: “Public spending cuts, increased personal taxation for the rich and fewer job opportunities in the UK have led many to re-evaluate their lives here and consider moving abroad. While the economy is in its current state, people feel that it could be a good time to leave the UK and pursue opportunities overseas. Many countries have suffered from big drops in house prices, which makes properties attractive to buyers coming from the UK.”

According to recent figures from the Worldwide Property Group sunny parts of the world like Spain, Brazil and the Caribbean are the favoured destinations for Brits buying property abroad.