Spain and France attract 70% of all Brits hoping to buy abroad

Through good times and bad, Spain’s appeal to Brits has been unwavering.

A new poll by foreign exchange specialists HiFX has found that 70 per cent of Brits considering buying property overseas focus their attention solely on Spain and France.

According to the survey, both Spain and France attracted 35 per cent of interest each, with the USA and Switzerland the highest risers. However, Spain’s perennial battle for top-spot with France looks set to continue for some time – the two nations have claimed the top two spots every year since 2007…

Interest in both markets has risen over the past two years, said HiFX, particularly in France, which suffered greatly during the economic downturn. Interest in Spain remained slightly more stable, but 2013 and 2014 saw a notable increase in the number of enquiries for Spanish property.

In 2007, just as the financial crisis was beginning to unfold, 21 per cent of enquiries HiFX received from Brits about property abroad were focused on Spain, and that level of interest fluctuated only slightly over the following years.

“Spain is undoubtedly a popular holiday destination and a vibrant property hub for Brits buying abroad,” said Mark Bodega of HiFX. “Not only does a Spanish home come with the promise of sunshine, great food and beautiful views, but it’s also been enviably affordable to buy property there since the 2008 financial crisis, with house prices falling between 40-50 per cent nationally.”

With the current favourable exchange rates (the highest in seven years), property in Spain is even more affordable for Brits. According to local reports, the average budget for a Brit searching for property in Spain is €517,000, which would certainly be enough to snap up some of the finest properties on offer in and around the famous resorts of the Costa del Sol.

“We have seen signs that Spain’s housing market is well on the road to recovery,” added Bodega. Property prices declined a mere -0.2 per cent month-on-month from December to January this year nationwide, which suggests a return to rising value shortly.

Indeed, in the Costa del Sol region, property price rises have already been reported, with the remainder of the country usually following suit shortly afterwards.

Recently data from the Public Works Ministry suggest that the average value of existing properties is set to increase by 0.2 per cent in the next quarter, while the value of new build properties will fall by 0.1 per cent.

Resale homes currently make up two-thirds of all property transactions in Spain.