The overseas division of the UK’s largest property portal Rightmove has revealed a 73% year on year increase in searches for Overseas property in April.
According to the portal the biggest benefactor of the increase was Italy, which saw its market share increase by 20% as it became the fourth most popular country on the site, up from 6th in March.
The portal said that Sicily had seen searches increase by 115%, which Sardinia, Lazio and Campania saw searches of between 20 and 30 percent higher than March. Agents in Calabria have also been reporting significant increases in foreign activity, though, they say sales are still low, enquiries are definitely increasing.
According to Rightmove’s head of overseas Robin Wilson, the increase in activity is representative of increasing confidence among buyers, as those who postponed their purchasing plans last year, deciding that now is a good time to buy.
“There’s no doubt absolute traffic volumes are down on the bubble peaks of 2007/2008, but there’s a ground swell of consumer confidence and resolve amongst serious lifestyle buyers to put into practice the purchase plans they put on hold last year,” he said.
This is the latest in a series of positive reports about overseas property this year, particularly European property in established markets.
These included a 150% year on year sales increase in Marbella, and an 18.7%sales increase in wider Spain. These early signs of hope can only be built upon now that the Eurozone debt problems are leading to Sterling having a run against the Euro.
1 pound Sterling is currently worth 1.17 Euros, having smashed the 1.15 ceiling of the past two months, which followed the breaking of the previous 1.10 ceiling that brought us out of 2009.
Because the Euro has come to near parity with the Pound, the difference this makes can easily be quantified: property in the Eurozone, including Italy and Spain is currently 12% cheaper to British buyers than when the pound was worth 1.05 euros in the second half of last year.
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