Salar posted on March 01, 2008 12:49
With prices rising in the UK market, property has become an unrealistic aspiration for some younger buyers, and this, coupled to falling affordability, has created an interest in buying abroad.
"It is something that is becoming more and more popular, just purely because prices are lower and, in some countries, just the way that the market is moving. It's a lot easier to actually get on the housing ladder," said Paul Collins, property editor for BuyAssociation.
"Some of the problem with property in the UK – particularly first-time buyer properties – is that they tend to be snapped up very, very quickly.
"So in order to actually get a first-time buyer property in the UK you have to be very quick and be ready with everything and get in ahead of a lot of the buy-to-let investors who are trying to buy them."
A study published by UK National Savings & Investments found that 84 per cent of 18 to 30-year-olds believe buying property abroad is a more viable option than buying in Britain.
"By buying overseas, you get a little bit more time to actually think about it and make sure you’re buying the right property. Plus, some of the markets are growing quite quickly so you can make a good deal of equity fairly quickly in these markets and hopefully that will help to buy property slightly higher up the ladder when you get back to the UK," explained Mr Collins.
However, house prices are not the only force instigating the desire to live abroad, according to the BuyAssociation.
"I think yes, people who have travelled will be a lot more comfortable buying property overseas. I think there's also just a generational thing really – younger buyers who are first-time buyers at the moment have tended to travel more than the older generation, so they are more comfortable with moving around Europe and other continents and using low-cost airlines and things like that," concluded Mr Collins.