Madeira and Cyprus property inquiries rise

Property website Rightmove Overseas has received a record 5.4 million searches in March.
Searches for Madeira more than doubled, increasing 105% over February and increased inquiries came for Cyprus, where prices have been falling in the wake of the island’s banking crisis, taking it to the seventh most popular destination, above Ireland.

Interest also rose in Turkey, Bulgaria and India. Declines came in searches for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the data shows.

In total, 51% of overseas property locations saw an increase in search activity while 48% saw a decline and 1% stayed the same.

Shameem Golamy, Head of Rightmove Overseas says, “The recent news coverage of the economic woes in Cyprus led to an increase of searches for the eastern Mediterranean island, overtaking Ireland as our seventh most popular destination.

“Traditional relocation destinations such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all fell in activity and emigration thoughts turn to summer holidays. Other destinations to see a decrease in activity are ski destinations such as Austria and Switzerland, as the snow melts and the ski season ends.”

South Africa fell out of the Rightmove Overseas top 20 and was replaced by the United Arab Emirates.

Currency expert, Marc Morley-Freer, Head of Private Clients of Smart Currency Exchange says an increase in Sterling has helped British buyers.

“March was a better month for Sterling with small increases against the Euro and US Dollar currencies, largely driven by the Cyprus debacle which showed just how quickly the currency market can move in a relatively short period of time.”

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