Posts from — January 2008

The average price for U.K. farmland is rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, according to Knight Frank, the property company. Values jumped 33.2 percent in 2007, hitting £4,178 per acre in the third quarter (€5,798), compared to £3,137 a year earlier (€4,353).

Demand is being driven by “lifestyle purchasers”—who want a taste of the rural quality of life more than the opportunity to work the land—and foreign buyers, according to Knight Frank. Fifteen percent of all U.K. farmland is now bought by overseas buyers—primarily from Ireland, northern Europe and Russia, the company’s research shows.

[Read more →]

BuyAssociation.co.uk property editor Paul Collins predicts the best countries for overseas property in 2008.

Predicting the next big markets for overseas property buyers is becoming increasingly difficult as time moves on, as there are now few developed countries where British buyers have not started to pick up property and develop or improve it. With the increasing influence of low-cost airlines on how we decide on and take our holidays, along with the demise of the traditional package holiday, owning a holiday home is more and more the norm for the general public.

[Read more →]

Favourite of American retirees seeking tax breaks, and now, of fugitive canoeists from the UK looking to miraculously come back to life, property in Panama has been gaining attention from the UK property press for some time now. The large numbers of multinational companies located in the city, along with the position at the hub of the trade world, make Panama’s property market an attractive emigration and investment destination. New properties are springing up all of the time, and there are now retirement developments appearing out in the countryside as well, giving an extra dimension to investing and living there. As for living in anonymity, you may be better now to lay your hat elsewhere…

This time last year, we didn’t even know what a credit crunch was. Now, the term laces every property conversation, along with widespread apprehension over just how far its insidious tentacles will stretch. But the year began optimistically, with the European Union’s two newest members, Bulgaria and Romania, expecting to enjoy the boom that this seal of approval brings. As it has turned out, prices for off-plan properties in Bulgaria haven’t soared as expected, says Robin Barrasford, of Barrasford and Bird. Currently, they remain stable. However, the resale market is seeing bigger leaps in value, with demand for resale properties up 70 per cent on last year and sellers making profits of about 45 per cent.

[Read more →]

BuyAssociation.co.uk Property Editor Paul Collins predicts the best countries for overseas property in 2008.

Introduction
Predicting the next big markets for overseas property buyers is becoming increasingly difficult as time moves on, as there are now few developed countries where British buyers have not started to pick up property and develop or improve it. With the increasing influence of low-cost airlines on how we decide on and take our holidays, along with the demise of the traditional package holiday, owning a holiday home is more and more the norm for the general public.

[Read more →]