Property Not so Slow on The Continent

While Spain and France are historically famous for quick returns on property investment, the UK still lags well behind them.  Last week (4th October 2006), Halifax reported that property in the UK as a whole grew by the narrowest margins since the early 1980s.  Meanwhile on the continent, prices are rising substantially more than the UK average, while latest figures from the Economist report that despite the reported slowdown in growth, both France and Spain are far exceeding the investment potential of the UK market.

Growth on the continent is more likely to be regional with tourist locations often producing figures above the average statistics.  However, overall average growth rates of 14.3% in France, 13.9% in Spain and a mere 6.6% in the UK help to dispel recent short-term scare stories of a temporary slowdown in property price growth on the continent.  Today’s property purchasers are careful to keep in mind the stark reality of the continued benefits of investing abroad.