Strong pound encourages property investors to look abroad

Property investors are becoming increasingly interested in expanding their portfolios outside of the UK.
 
Some 46% of property investors surveyed by FXcompared Intelligence said they are keen to take advantage of the strong pound to buy property abroad,
 
Almost a quarter  of study respondents said they are considering buying property abroad in the next 12-18 months due to the stronger economic climate for business and residential lettings in foreign countries.

Last month’s majority election of the Conservative Party is also a significant factor as one in five admitted this as a prime reason for them to start looking for property overseas. 

Easier access to mortgage funding (22%), changes to UK Stamp Duty and property tax (16%), access to pension funds (14%) and better mortgage deals abroad (12%) were noted as other key drivers towards foreign property purchases post-election. 
 
When it comes to reasons not to invest, 43% of participants said they are not interested in investing in countries where there is heavy regulation, while a lack of language skills (23%) and fears over how the property purchasing process (29%) works in certain countries are also popular causes for concern. 

“Over the next 12-18 months we could see a trend among residential and commercial property investors- focusing heavily on major European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and France,” says Daniel Webber, Co-Founder & Managing Director, FXcompared. 
 
He says that while financial reasons remain the main driver for pursuing foreign property ownership, lifestyle choices playing an increasing role in investors’ decisions.

The full set of research can be viewed here.