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Young Property Buyers Increasingly More Drawn to Homes Overseas Than in the U.K. - 8 July 2010

About a quarter of first-time buyers in the U.K. are shying away from purchasing property in their home country and are instead considering buying abroad, according to a recent survey.

Out of 2,000 people questioned, foreign exchange group Moneycorp found that 24 percent of those who do not already own already property here believe that their money would go further if they were to buy overseas.

For investment and holiday purposes, France and Spain were the most popular choices among these first time buyers. For those looking to relocate, Australia was the top pick. With its growing economy, Australia is an attractive alternative to the inflated U.K. housing market. About 20 percent of the people surveyed said they had decided against buying here in the U.K. because of the outrageous home prices.

First time buyers stressed that currency exchange rates were an important factor when looking for property. Australia’s currency is strong, and for young people, moving Down Under would be less of an adjustment than relocating to France or Spain because the language and employment opportunities.

It seems that British investment in foreign property is on the rise overall. Many U.K. real estate portals are reporting that interest has increased dramatically in the last six months, and is even moving past the stage of inquiry into actual mortgages. Foreign exchange broker World First says they’ve experienced a 200 percent increase in transactions from a year ago.

Recent research also concluded that there was a 48 percent increase in prospective foreign buyers taking their mortgage quotes through to the application stage from February to March alone.

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