There is currently a strong appetite for property investment among British expats, with 38% of those who intend to buy a new property in the next two years looking to rent it out for a regular income.
This is the finding of new research from Lloyds Bank, which also revealed that 43% of respondents said they are likely to buy a property in the next two years, with 26% wanting to buy in the UK.
The desire for UK property would appear to be a wise investment, with 71% of those who own rental properties in the UK having tenants in them at all times, compared to 47% of those that have foreign properties.
“Confidence in the UK property market is very strong,” commented Richard Musty, Director, Lloyds Bank International Banking. “Our recent Investor Sentiment Index in March showed that consumer sentiment for UK property had grown by 50 percentage points since March 2013, so it’s not a surprise that Brits abroad are looking back home.”
For many expats, the relatively weak Sterling also makes the UK property market even more attractive – their Euros or US Dollars now buy them more Pounds now than they would have done a few years ago. A £300,000 property is now approximately 25% cheaper to a European buyer than it was in 2007, prior to the financial crisis.
Expats based in the UAE (65%), France (37%) and Switzerland (29%) are apparently the most likely to buy in Britain, which may be related to geographic proximity or restrictive local laws in place for purchasing property in some countries, say Lloyds. For example, 72% of respondents in the UAE already own a UK property – the highest in the survey.
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