Spain was the most popular property destination of 2012, according to The Move Channel property search data, showing that Spain accounted for 18.3 per cent of all enquiries last year.
US property was the second most popular, making up 15.4 percent of enquiries. France came in third, followed by the UL and Portugal.
British buyers were the main drivers of activity, accounting for almost 4 of every 10 (38 per cent) visitors, followed by US investors (15 per cent). Buyers from the rest of the world accounted for the other 48 per cent, with Australia, Spain, Ireland and Canada responsible for the majority of interest.
When it comes to property, you can’t beat a good old-fashioned home, the infographic also reveals: houses made up half of all enquiries in 2012. Apartments were the second most popular type of property, accounting for 38 per cent. Bigger isn’t always better, though, with investors preferring two-bedroom properties over three and four bedroom properties.
The recession left its mark last year as buyers counted their pennies to focus on lower price brackets: properties with asking prices of under £100,000 were responsible for 6 in 10 enquiries (58 per cent) in 2012, with those between £0 and 50,000 attracting over one-third of attention (35 per cent). Demand weakened at the higher end of the market: only 1 in 10 enquiries involved a property worth £500,000 and over.
House hunters also tended to be male, the infographic reveals, with female visitors only accounting for 42 per cent of traffic.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“After a turbulent financial year, this month’s At a Glance infographic lets us take a step back and see what the overseas property market looked like in 2012. Combining our figures with the other portals in Lead Galaxy’s network, which received a total of 7 million visitors last year, gives us as broad a picture as possible – and during a time of recession, the picture is good for low-priced Spanish and US property, as investors tighten their belts. In fact, if you take the main results from each statistic, the conclusion is simple: men from the UK want houses in Spain for under £50,000!”
The infographic also reveals the most popular listings from last year, with flats in Murcia’s La Manga resort attracting the highest number of enquiries.
Ivan Radford adds:
“Demand for Spanish property may be the strongest, but Brazil accounted for two of 2012’s top four listings – an insight into the priorities of buyers and supply levels around the world. The USA, for example, is the second most popular destination, but with so many properties on the market, demand is spread across a large number of listings. In Brazil, the sixth most popular overall, there are fewer listings so the demand is clearer to see.
“Despite South America’s appeal, though, it’s quite startling how centralised the activity is on the map: even with the eurozone crisis continuing, traditional European destinations make up the majority of the top 30 countries.
Radford concludes:
“While it is interesting to see buyers’ preference for houses and properties with two bedrooms, the infographic is also a reminder that no matter what the economic condition is in any country, two things remain more important to buyers than anything else: location and price.”
