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British investors in property on the Costa del Sol are getting younger
Pilar Martínez
A report has revealed that 200,000 Britons are looking for a home abroad ‘Homes Overseas’ in London showed growing interest in other areas
Who exactly are the Brits who end up living on Spanish shores? Why do they decide to buy a property? What type of property do they prefer and how do they find what they are looking for? These are just some of the questions asked in a report presented last week in Alicante by the UK-based firm Blendon Communications, who are also the organisers of last weekend’s property show “Homes Overseas” in London.
Their conclusions reveal that this year the 200,000 Britons who are actively searching for a property abroad are younger and that half of them say that they want to use the property as a holiday home.
The study names Spain as the most popular country. Some 36 per cent of British investors opt to buy on Spanish soil, especially on the Mediterranean coast, which they compare with Miami, according to Blendon Communication’s Peter Robinson. Spain, which, the report shows, is starting to lose its appeal, is followed closely by France, a destination which, along with Florida and Cyprus, is gaining popularity.
Within Spain the Costa del Sol is still the leading destination, although the Costa Blanca is catching up, says the report, compiled after interviewing 1,487 potential buyers at property shows organised by Blendon Communications between September 2002 and 2003 - Earl’s Court (London), SECC (Glasgow) and NEC (Birmingham).
According to Robinson, the average Briton wanting to invest in a property overseas is aged between 45 and 55, although he added that there is now an increase in potential buyers aged between 25 and 44 and a fall in the over 55s looking for a property abroad.
Robinson also pointed out that foreign investment in holiday homes grew in Spain by 30 per cent in 2002, reaching the 560 million euro mark. He added that Spain is the second most important area for residential tourism in the world after the United States and ahead of France, Italy or Greece.
He explained that in June 2002, before the report was compiled, Spain had more than 3.6 million second homes, amounting to one property of this kind for every 11 inhabitants. This has continued to increase and the foreign population resident in Spain has gone from 353,367 in 1991 to more than 1.6 million at present, 3.85 per cent of the total Spanish population.
The report also revealed that the average sum spent on property in Spain was £148,000 in 2003 and the majority of holiday homes are located near the beach, although inland properties are gaining in popularity. The factors that foreign property buyers consider most important about Spain are its fine climate, security and the quality-price ratio.
The majority of these new investors, who could reach the two million mark in the UK over the next five years, decide to buy properties that have already been constructed and 44 per cent pay their mortgage in pounds sterling.
It’s also important to note that the internet is gaining significance as a means of searching for property abroad.
SUR in English
SUR in English representatives at the Homes Overseas exhibition last weekend confirmed the growing interest in the United States and what were generally held to be cheaper destinations in Europe. Although many visitors to the SUR in English stand said they were interested in Spanish property, there was a move away from the more expensive coastal resorts - as one visitor remarked, “Marbella is getting to be as expensive as London”.
British buyers
Potential market: More than 200,000 Britons are actively searching for property abroad this year.
Age: 30 per cent are aged between 45 and 55 years. Buyers between 25 and 44 are on the increase and the over 55s are falling.
Motives: Some 60 per cent buy as an investment, 45 percent say they want a holiday home and 34 per cent are planning to retire abroad
Countries: Spain is the favourite among the Brits, although it fell by six per cent in 2003. It is followed by France, Florida and Cyprus.
Type of property: 39 per cent prefer it to be already built.
Location: 34 per cent prefer the seafront. Rural properties are gaining popularity.
Price: Average £148,000. | 
