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Predicted top overseas property hotspots for Summer 2007

The top places to invest in an overseas property this summer are Morocco, Dubai, Cyprus (including the North), Brazil, Crete, Egypt, Budapest and the Caribbean.

Morocco's "lush gardens, olive groves and palm trees coupled with medieval alleyways and the vibrant market stalls" as key reason for its increased popularity with investors, as well as more cheap flights.

Dubai's combination of luxury, glamour, ambitious tourist developments and city living, making it a good place to invest this summer

Cyprus, a high quality of life, relatively inexpensive living costs and great climate has seen investors becoming more interested in buying property on the island of Cyprus. A buy-to-let investment in Cyprus is still a great venture, with tourism booming and the reputation Cyprus has for attracting repeat and loyal visitors, rental demand continues to outstrip supply. The full adoption of the euro in 2008 is also set to see more investment on the island, which has the top tourist destinations of Paphos, Larnaca and Limassol. Developments in Northern Cyprus have increased, and prices are still low, attracting many investors to this most beautiful part of the island.

The Caribbean has good returns on holiday buy-to-lets, with the thousands of visitors attending the 2007 Cricket World Cup creating "a boom in property sales’.
Two-bedroom homes with private gardens in St Lucia are available from £106,500, with large four-bedroom houses with sea and mountain views in St Kitts and Nevis for £227,100.

Goa, with properties from jus £5000, buyers are taking advantage of these low prices, to invest in this most beautiful location. With lush greenery and long white beaches it is hard to resist.

Also in the top five places to buy overseas property this summer is the Hungarian capital Budapest, home to fascinating and eclectic architecture, grand old coffee houses and Turkish baths, is an emerging city on the property market. Its lively nightlife, rapidly improving gastronomy and beautifully ornate properties are causing more investors to turn their eyes on the city.

Brazil, Newly developing markets such as Brazil are a good place for investors to make a profit. Brazil offers excellent potential, supported by a new airport going into the North East. The government is investing a lot of money in infrastructure and actively targeting foreign investment in the country. It's got one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Brazil is the ninth most popular investment location, according to foreign exchange specialist Currencies

Overseas homes in Egypt are set to be a top property investment for Brits in 2007, experts are predicting. Egyptian property experts at the Homebuyer Show note house prices rose 50 per cent over the last two years, with 20 per cent growth predicted for 2007. The country is also experiencing a tourism boom, with the number of visitors going up 25 per cent from 2005 to 2006.
Other factors that make investing in property in Egypt attractive include the sunny weather, the many historical attractions, highly rated diving locations and resorts, and average rental yields of 11 per cent in tourist areas. Investors also benefit from low rates of stamp duty, death succession duty at seven per cent and no capital gains tax.

An alternative location to buy to the popular Costas, Crete is one of the largest of Greece's islands and offers a diverse range of properties from those close to developed tourist-orientated areas to more rural locations such as mountains villages.

Combined with property prices 30 to 40 per cent lower than the UK's, a stable economy and high standard of living Crete makes a good location for an overseas property investment.

Rental Market
The market in rental properties is especially buoyant around major conurbations such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow. In these cities, many international business visitors are consistently in need of high quality homes for short-to-medium term lets.

Young UK renters plan to buy overseas
A new group of young buyers are emerging who are planning to invest in overseas property while renting in the UK, a study out today reveals.
Almost three in ten (27 per cent) of prospective first-time buyers say they would consider buying overseas to get onto the first rung of the property ladder
The figures also show the younger the buyer, the more likely they are to be put off buying in the UK.
More than eight in ten (84 per cent) of 18-24 year olds believe buying abroad is a more affordable option than buying in the UK, compared with 74 per cent across UK adults.

Why invest in property?
People are turning to UK and Overseas property investment, as investments based on traditional financial services instruments may struggle when interest rates are low.
It is no coincidence that around 20% of the Sunday Times Rich List owes their wealth to property. Investing in property, both in the UK and abroad has never made more sense.
Many investors realise that their home has been their best performing asset and have begun to ask themselves:
"How much more could I make if I owned other properties?"
Gain access to some of the best deals on the market with Dream Homes Abroad
Stocks and shares, by their very nature need winners and losers, which is fine when you are backing a winner, but not so good if you choose the wrong shares.
Property, however, has long been a consistent performer. In the UK
we have a long-standing faith in ‘bricks and mortar’ as an investment.
Many people are unaware that the price of houses in the UK has regularly doubled in price every 8 years since 1946. An overseas property investment can see growth of nearly 20% per annum, in a country with a stable financial and governmental system in place.
The Overseas Property Investment market has quite a few benefits over the UK.
Lower Property Prices
The UK housing market is a competitive place. People in the UK are generally investment and property minded. The UK has one of the highest percentages of house ownership in Western Europe, mainly due to the push in the 80's to sell of council owned property and the continued lack of new social housing being built. This has created high demand, which has fuelled well-documented increases in property prices and made in more difficult to buy Investment Property in the UK.
Other parts of the world don't have the same attitude when it comes to property ownership and in many less developed countries, property prices are lower. A word of caution: A low entry price doesn't mean it is a good Investment Property. Unlike some "property Investment companies" we don't provide Investment Property opportunities in the Eastern Bloc, despite very low entry prices. There are a number of reasons for this, which I will go into later.
Lower Interest Rates
A Euro based mortgage is typically running at about 4-4.5% several points lower than a typical UK one. This means on most European Overseas Investment Property you can get a mortgage from an overseas bank at a lower rate or increasingly from a UK lender who bases the exchange rate on the Euro Interest rate.
Holiday Rental Market
Buying an investment property overseas in the right area means that you’ll have holiday rental potential. The holiday rental investment model is very different from residential letting, as you need much less occupancy to be able to cover all your annual cost and make a rental profit. Weekly rentals in up and coming or established holiday area's provide the chance to generate high rental yields as prices are at a premium for leisure and short term letting. Although property prices in established areas are higher than up and coming areas.
Exchange Rate
Sterling is very strong in the global economy and an added advantage of buying abroad is the exchange rate you’ll currently get. In the last 12 months the Euro has been stable around the 1.48 mark.
Less Hassle & Lower running costs
Generally speaking there is a competitive Letting Agency Market in most Holiday areas, meaning most of the good ones are long established, know what they are doing and are competitive to keep your property on their books. They are so well set up to offer Car Hire, Excursions, etc which they earn commission from, something a UK agent doesn't have the opportunity to do.
They have slick check in and check out processes, known and well "oiled" cleaning and laundry services. The whole workings behind the tourist industry is set up to keep visitors coming back year after year as if they don't that's their livelihood down the drain. You have plenty of choice and if you stick to the main
Letting Agent's you'll get a competitive rate, a property that's full most of the time (Letting Agents only earn when the Property is let) and hassle free rental. In addition Tax and property running costs in most European countries are lower than the UK.
Choosing the right area
There are many overseas properties available in various countries. The recent property explosion in Ex Eastern Bloc countries has given rise to a large number of seemingly low cost housing. Whilst this makes entry to these properties very attractive, it can be very difficult to sell the property sue to the over supply of available property on the market.
Points to note: -
• Holiday Rental is 100% dependant on Tourists. Check out how many low cost airlines go to the area you are considering, how much current tourist traffic is currently visiting that area and are the visitor numbers growing? What are the general transport links like i.e. main roads, local airports & main rail lines?
• Economy. What happens if the local economy has run away inflation or is fundamentally unstable? This can seriously undermine any Investment and affects capital growth of your property.
In summary, it's a lot easier to find true investment property overseas than it currently is in the UK. It can also be a lot less hassle and if you go for a holiday property and if you want to you also get the opportunity to use it yourself when it's not let. The key to a successful overseas investment property is getting the area and region right.

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