According to the research 17 per cent of people aged over 45 years old are likely to buy abroad over the next two years making them the age group most likely to do so, while an aspiring one in ten of those aged between 18 and 34 (10 per cent) are also looking to buy overseas – the majority of them, (60 per cent) are looking to buy purely as an investment.
Currently 2.3 million people already own a property abroad with as many as 500,000 used solely for investment purposes. Regionally, Londoners are most likely to own a property abroad, with one in ten (10 per cent) doing so, however London’s property-owners are least likely to visit their property each year. On average, Britons who own a home abroad will visit the property between two and three times a year.
Sally Watts, marketing manager at Cater Allen, said: “With concerns that a deteriorating property market will not guarantee the returns that people expect from buying a property, more and more people are investigating how they can find investment returns elsewhere.
“People who buy property abroad need to have an account that will not penalise them for operating their finances in two countries and should look to find an account that can operate fluidly across several currencies.
“Cater Allen’s multiple currency accounts allows customers to hold currency in Euros, Dollars or Sterling – or a mix of all three – The accounts are ideal for people who regularly travel abroad or need to transfer funds between currencies but do not wish to be charged”.