Greece
7th in UK's top buying destinations
A Place
In The Sun Live, 15th January 2008
According to a survey published today, in the form of A Place in the
Sun magazine’s annual Top 20 buying destinations, despite a raft
of emerging markets and USA property prices down 30% on a year ago
and a dollar weakened by 25%, it’s the traditional sun-seeker’s
favourite Spain that takes the number one spot for the second year
running.
The poll, conducted at the recent A Place in the Sun Live exhibition
at the NEC Birmingham, the world’s largest overseas property
event of its type, also saw France with its enviable lifestyle maintaining
its 2006 second place and Turkey climbing into third position on the
back of a wide range of developments marketing in the UK offering great
value and year-round sunshine.
Other key trends highlighted include the USA’s leaping six places
into fourth position as UK investors take advantage of a buyer’s
market and two dollars to the pound, Italy moves up three spots into
the top five (as Calabria becomes ever more prominent) and the meteoric
rise of Canada – the biggest climber – up seven places
to number nine.
Seven of the top ten destinations are European, with Cyprus (6) and
Greece (7) performing consistently on the wish lists of UK residents
looking for a home abroad, but Egypt is up three places and bubbling
under (at 11) and threatening to break through alongside its North
African counterpart Cape Verde (10).
Another interesting mover is Australia, which jumps from 20 to 15 as
more UK residents than ever make a permanent move overseas (389,000
last year according to the Office of National Statistics) – as
witnessed by the success of The Emigration Show at A Place in the Sun
Live.
Says Richard Way, Editor of A Place in the Sun magazine: “What’s
really interesting about our annual Top 20 survey is that it shows
UK buyers as traditional in one respect - in favouring Spain and France
- but also willing to seek out new hot spots and investment opportunities
elsewhere: across Europe, North Africa, North America, Asia and the
Middle East. When looking for a second home or a new life in the sun
it seems that Spain’s mix of great weather, rich culture and
beautiful coastline is keeping the country at the number one spot,
but buyers aren’t afraid to consider Germany, Montenegro, Morocco,
Las Vegas, Thailand or Dubai.”
The UK’s Top 20 overseas property destinations according to A
Place in the Sun:
|
2007 |
2006 |
1 |
Spain ( - ) |
Spain |
2 |
France ( - ) |
France |
3 |
Turkey (+1) |
Bulgaria |
4 |
USA (+6) |
Turkey |
5 |
Italy (+3) |
Cyprus |
6 |
Cyprus (-1) |
Greece |
7 |
Greece (-1) |
Portugal |
8 |
Bulgaria (-5) |
Italy |
9 |
Canada (+7) |
Cape Verde |
10 |
Cape Verde (-1) |
USA |
11 |
Egypt (+3) |
Croatia |
12 |
Portugal (-5) |
Morocco |
13 |
Morocco (-1) |
Caribbean |
14 |
Caribbean (-1) |
Egypt |
15 |
Australia (+5) |
Dubai |
16 |
Montenegro (+2) |
Canada |
17 |
Croatia (-6) |
Thailand |
18 |
Dubai (-3) |
Montenegro |
19 |
Germany (new entry) |
South Africa |
20 |
Thailand (-3) |
Australia |
|