A holiday home is for life, not just for rent

A holiday home is for life, not just for rent

Wed 13 December 2006

Jet-to-let purchases are the talk of the travel and property industries as more and more Brits buy up properties overseas. To assess the mood amongst those buying abroad www.holidaylettings.co.uk conducted a survey of its holiday homeowners, many of whom own one or more properties abroad.

The survey revealed that 42% of holiday homeowners never expect or intend to sell their overseas property. Whilst 74% of those owners said that rental income was the most significant benefit of their overseas purchase, only 7% staked this as their original reason for purchase. The same survey showed that over half (50%) of holiday homeowners had only bought overseas within the last two years, therefore highlighting the drive for buying abroad in recent years and the much debated investment opportunities and yield rewards.

In the ‘lifestyle investment’ mindset of the 21st-century, more than half (51%) of holiday homeowners stated that their original reason for purchase was actually the advantage of low cost holidays. 42% also admitted choosing their location because of easy access that was provided to and from the UK, highlighting the impact of low cost airlines and competitive pricing on popular flight routes.

Another study, conducted by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has attempted to quantify the extent of British emigration. Concluding a figure of 5.5 million Britons opting to live abroad they also revealed Spain to be one of the top locations for emigration, alongside other English speaking nations. In line with that research, the majority of Holiday Lettings homeowners looking to keep their property have houses in Spain (29%).

In support of a recent report from www.holidaylettings.co.uk on Britons moving towards inland Spain, those who said in the survey that they are looking to retire abroad in Spain mentioned it would preferably be inland. One homeowner said he would buy again in order to retire to Spain, “probably slightly more of an inland location.” Another homeowner said: “We will retire to Spain with a sea view and a not very large ex-pat community.”