Italy popularity increases as investors "play it safe"

Italy is becoming an increasingly popular destination among buyers looking to purchase property overseas, one property portal has claimed.

Liam Bailey, chief market analyst at Property Abroad, noted that the country is now the sixth most popular destination for buyers, having climbed two places in the website's top ten list over the last two weeks.

He explained that while areas such as Ukraine and Bulgaria were popular among investors a few years ago when finance was easy to obtain, the opposite is now true as consumer confidence is falling in the wake of the credit crunch.

"As consumer confidence drops, established markets like … Italy … are regaining their positions as most popular for overseas property purchasers," he explained, noting that investors are choosing to "play it safe" and buy in a country such as Italy, which has a "secure and stable" property market.

Property firm Chesterton recently opened an office in Como, helping buyers to find homes in the Lake Como area.