Brits looking to further price falls in Europe

People in the UK are turning towards European properties for sale as a way of making money through investments because of the poor performance of the euro in recent months and the fact that countries such as Spain and Greece have been struggling particularly. This could be a trend which could be set to extend, with Greeks voting this week for further austerity measures to try to keep the country in the euro.

Recently, people are looking to pick up cheap properties, according to one expert. Les Calvert, director at Property-Abroad.com, said that in Spain in particular, there are many Brits who are actively seeking out homes that are repossessions so that they can have the chance to barter on a price with the bank or lender which has taken it back.

He also said that recent months have seen Brits flock to some countries more than other. The traditional havens of France and Spain remain popular, with more people now looking to buy there because they will get more for their money, while serious issues in Greece are leading to people buying and hoping prices will increase in years to come.

Mr Calvert said that it is now likely however, that people who have been waiting on news coming out of Greece will take the plunge and start buying homes now.

"Those interested in Greece have probably sat on the fence waiting for that to happen before they plunged any deeper into it. I think there is probably a bit more to go as far as property price reductions are concerned in Greece before they start to jump in. The majority of people are of that opinion.

"Although enquiries for property in Greece are going up, I think that what people are doing is feeling their way around what is available in the market and then keeping their eye on those particular properties."

Other countries currently popular with foreign investors include Bulgaria and Turkey.