Spain 'still popular'

June 2007

Despite recent scares, the most popular place for Brits to buy holiday homes is still Spain, a new report suggests.

Recently, some experts have predicted that many properties in Spain are over-valued and that a house price crash could be imminent.

However, the latest HiFX Monthly Global Property Hotspots Report shows that Spain remains popular with people from the UK looking for a second home abroad.

The report shows that 27 per cent of all enquires the firm dealt with in the last month were about properties in Spain.

While some areas in Spain are experiencing cooling property prices, the report found that inland locations are now becoming popular with savvy buyers.

"Forced to be more realistic about the prospects in the Spanish real estate market, holiday home buyers and investors alike, will have to look for value rather than creating it artificially," explained Mark Bodega, of HiFX.

"Cut through the current hype and think carefully about the property you are buying in order to make the most of the current market conditions. Only certain areas are suffering a slump due to over supply, whilst others still have much to offer."

Mr Bodega added that currently people looking for a holiday home in Spain can take advantage of "real bargains as property sticks and investors look to extract themselves".

Last year, the BBC reported that nearly a million people from the UK now live in Spain on either a permanent or part-time basis.