House-hunters look to UAE to avoid Eurozone

BRITISH house-buyers looking to invest abroad are increasingly willing to move outside of Europe, according to research from PrimeLocation.com.

Searches on the website for Spanish properties plummeted 15 per cent in the final quarter of 2011, compared with the previous quarter, the website said in figures out today.

Italy and France were close behind, with declines of 14 per cent and nine per cent respectively.
Searches for Portugal fell nine per cent, while Cyprus saw a 15 per cent slump in real estate interest, PrimeLocation claimed.

Meanwhile searches for property in the United Arab Emirates rocketed 47 per cent, the US 25 per cent and Australia 22 per cent.

“The UAE enjoy low rates of taxation, a stable and wealthy economy and an attractive property market, so it’s easy to understand why many highly-paid professionals would be tempted,” said Nigel Lewis from PrimeLocation.com.

“However, buyers considering more far flung property markets such as the UAE should seek legal advice to ensure they understand the property laws in the country.”

In terms of overall searches, France remains UK buyers’ favoured destination, while the US rose from third to second place on the quarter, overtaking Spain.

“Although places such as Spain, Portugal and Italy remain popular among UK buyers demand for them is on the decline, which is not surprising given the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone,” Lewis explained.

Germany, which is one of the sturdier countries in the Eurozone, saw searches for its properties rise two per cent between the third and fourth quarters.

And closer to home, wealthy investors from the Eurozone have been flocking to central London real estate to park their cash, sending viewings of prime property up 25 per cent at the end of last year, according to Knight Frank.

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