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Crisis? What crisis? - 3 March 2008

Posted by Paul Collins 1 comment

The first two months of 2008 have been characterized by gloom in the financial markets – Northern Rock has gone from being a failing private bank to a failing bank owned by the government, house prices in the UK are down when inflation is taken into account and inflation itself is threatening to become the story of the year unless food prices level out and fuel costs increase no further.

You would think this means that most of the UK population is packing away dreams of a second home overseas as well as any thoughts to spend any money on anything other than making it through the year financially unscathed. Well, you would be wrong, it appears.

Rightmove Overseas, the overseas arm of arguably the most recognizable property portal in the UK, has reported a rise in enquiries for properties abroad of more than 25 per cent compared to the same time last year. Not only do people still want to buy themselves a bolt-hole overseas, they are keener than ever!

Part of this could be put down to investors. With the recent stock market jitters that reverberated around the world as an echo of the continuing sub-prime mortgage problems, some people with cash to invest will have seen the overseas property market as the best way for them to make a swift return with less of a risk then they may have on the share indexes.

Also, in times of strife on a global scale, many people take what were idle thoughts or pipe dreams and make them into reality. Although I would never seek to compare the two situations, I know one overseas property website experienced a significant spike in traffic in the days after the horrendous terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001. It is almost as if having something bad happen in the world solidifies the resolve of people to make a change in their lives that they had been meaning to make happen for some time.

In many ways, I could never think of a better reason you might want to make that decision.

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Comments

1. Graham Downie - March 11, 2008

Interesting article Paul.

The euro is weak, the press are having a field day talking about a property crash yet here in Cognac most of the agents are busy and we're seeing plenty of UK buyers looking either for a dream holiday home or to retire out here full time.

In times of trouble people tend to go back to what they're comfortable with and I guess that love it or hate it France fits the bill nicely.

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