France replaces Spain as top overseas property destination

Wednesday 21st December 2011

There were more searches for French properties on Rightmove than ever before last month, according to the latest search chart released by the property portal, ensuring that France replaced Spain as the most searched for overseas country on the website.

In percentage terms, 56.4% of locations saw an increase in searches, with Italy, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Switzerland all rising in popularity as winter approaches.

However, summer hotspots Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and Malta all fell as attention turns to winter destinations.

Shameem Golamy, head of Rightmove Overseas, said: “The news this year that the French government chose not to tax owners of holiday homes an extra 20% seems to have finally percolated through to buyers. This, coupled with the start of the winter sports season appears to have driven UK buyers to browse properties in France. All but three of the French regions have increased in search activity compared with only two Spanish regions which showed an increase in activity in November.”

Significantly nine out of the top ten most popular regions month-on-month are in Germany and Poland, the most popular being Brandenburg with a 82% rise.

Golamy added: “This suggests that, as in previous months, the economic stability of the Germany, together with the investment opportunities available in Poland are really attracting UK buyers.”