According to a survey published today (17 Jan), in the form of A Place in the Sun magazine’s annual Top 20 buying destinations, despite a raft of emerging markets and USA property prices down 30% on a year ago and a dollar weakened by 25%, it’s the traditional sun-seeker’s favourite Spain that takes the number one spot for the second year running.

 

The poll, conducted at the recent A Place in the Sun Live exhibition at the NEC Birmingham, the world’s largest overseas property event of its type, also saw France with its enviable lifestyle maintaining its 2006 second place and Turkey climbing into third position on the back of a wide range of developments marketing in the UK offering great value and year-round sunshine.

Other key trends highlighted include the USA’s leaping six places into fourth position as UK investors take advantage of a buyer’s market and two dollars to the pound, Italy moves up three spots into the top five (as Calabria becomes ever more prominent) and the meteoric rise of Canada – the biggest climber – up seven places to number nine.

Seven of the top ten destinations are European, with Cyprus (6) and Greece (7) performing consistently on the wish lists of UK residents looking for a home abroad, but Egypt is up three places and bubbling under (at 11) and threatening to break through alongside its North African counterpart Cape Verde (10).

Another interesting mover is Australia, which jumps from 20 to 15 as more UK residents than ever make a permanent move overseas (389,000 last year according to the Office of National Statistics) – as witnessed by the success of The Emigration Show at A Place in the Sun Live.

Says Richard Way, Editor of A Place in the Sun magazine: “What’s really interesting about our annual Top 20 survey is that it shows UK buyers as traditional in one respect – in favouring Spain and France – but also willing to seek out new hot spots and investment opportunities elsewhere: across Europe, North Africa, North America, Asia and the Middle East. When looking for a second home or a new life in the sun it seems that Spain’s mix of great weather, rich culture and beautiful coastline is keeping the country at the number one spot, but buyers aren’t afraid to consider Germany, Montenegro, Morocco, Las Vegas, Thailand or Dubai.”

The UK’s Top 20 overseas property destinations according to A Place in the Sun:

1. Spain ( - )          Spain
2. France ( - )        France
3. Turkey (+1)       Bulgaria
4. USA (+6)            Turkey
5.  Italy (+3)            Cyprus
6. Cyprus (-1)         Greece
7. Greece (-1)         Portugal
8. Bulgaria (-5)        Italy
9. Canada (+7)        Cape Verde
10. Cape Verde (-1)  USA
11. Egypt (+3)           Croatia
12. Portugal (-5)        Morocco
13. Morocco (-1)      Caribbean
14. Caribbean (-1)    Egypt
15. Australia (+5)     Dubai
16. Montenegro (+2)Canada
17. Croatia (-6)        Thailand
18. Dubai (-3)           Montenegro
19. Germany            South Africa
20. Thailand (-3)      Australia

Notes:

The A Place in the Sun Top 20 destinations are compiled annually from independent research by The Happy Research Company based on interviews with buyers at A Place in the Sun Live exhibition. 469 overseas buyers were interviewed for this survey.