Most Britons Buying Property Abroad Use Cash

A new survey has revealed that the majority of Britons buying property abroad or who intend to buy in the future will be cash buyers. They will not require mortgages to purchase, nor will they be reliant on selling their property in the UK to fund an overseas property purchase.What this of course tells us is that most Britons buying property abroad use cash, and so at a time when homes in the UK are taking longer to sell, mortgages are harder to come by and the interest rate one can receive on cash savings is so ridiculously low, it is definitely a good time to look abroad at the property bargains available to make a wise investment for the future!Some are predicting that more Brits will now have to give up their dream of living abroad because of a weak pound and an even weaker British economy - but at Shelter Offshore we feel that most evidence actually supports the fact that Britons will be more active than ever when it comes to planning their escape from the UK!The survey into overseas property and British buyers conducted by Barclays Bank in association with Homes Overseas magazine revealed that 40% of Britons either already own a property abroad or intend to buy one, and that of those who intend to buy, 43.1% said they would be buying with cash. That was by far and away the majority response. So, at a time when anyone with any spare cash is looking around desperately for somewhere to bank their cash where they will get better than the average 0.something rate of interest, where better to look than at property markets abroad where prices are crashing and developers and vendors are getting desperate.We have been saying for a long time that now is an amazing window of opportunity for investors because property prices in some of the most tried, tested and evergreen destinations in the world are fast falling. This means that one can buy into places where one was previously priced out of the market - or buy better than one would have been able to before. Topping the tables with Britons surveyed by Barclays Bank in association with Homes Overseas magazine were France, Spain, Italy and Portugal - i.e., the tried and tested, evergreen markets we mentioned!These are locations that never lose their lustre and appeal, but each is a country suffering its own weakened housing market meaning that those with the cash to buy in can potentially secure a real bargain. Of course the fact that the pound has dropped in value in relation to the euro so spectacularly over the last 12 - 18 months means that one does have to negotiate harder than ever, but it is possible! What's more, seek out the currency exchange specialists and get them on board and offering you good forward rates on currency exchange if you do decide to go ahead and buy.There has never been such an opportunity and real case for buying a property abroad as now - as stated interest rates in the UK are close to zero meaning that anyone with any cash needs to look at putting it into a different asset class altogether before the government starts printing money (!), and because the majority of those surveyed who want to go overseas want to buy in cash, and because markets abroad are crashing - there really has never been another time like it!