The number of overseas property deals closed by British citizens jumped 56 per cent in the last year, according to currency exchange specialist Currencies Direct.
As always, Spain was the top destination for the UK buyers, registering an 84 per cent increase from a year earlier. The value of the Spanish transactions rose 94 per cent, the currency exchange company said.
Of course, it’s important to note that any increases are based on the historic recent lows, so improvement is easy. Nevertheless, the currency exchange agency’s data is one more indicator that British buyers are once again active in Spain’s second home market.
The total value of money sent overseas by Brits – which including mortgage payments, “outright purchases and other associated costs” – has risen by 59 per cent, “suggesting that buyers are seeking out ever more expensive pieds a terre,” the company says.
The report also emphasizes the important of currency exchange rate fluctuations in purchase, specifically the strengthening pound. With the Canadian and Australian currency weak, purchases jumped 143 per cent and 231 per cent, respectively.
The improving UK economy and low interest rates are also playing a factor, Phil McHugh, trading floor manager at Currencies Direct, said in the release.
“As the UK looks set to increase interest rates before the US or Europe, sterling’s value will continue to rise, lowering the real cost of future property payments, and buyers will be factoring this in, too,” McHugh said.
