First time buyers looking overseas

Tuesday, 22 July 2008 18:24

According to the World of Property UK, nearly half of British first-time buyers would be willing to purchase overseas in order to get their foot on the property ladder new research from independent online finance portal Fair Investment Company has revealed. Last year, National Savings and Investment found that 25 per cent of British people would consider buying overseas where property is cheaper and they could save for a deposit on a house back in the UK, suggesting that the number of first-time buyers willing to invest in overseas property may have doubled in less than a year. The Fair Investment Company survey found that 44 per cent of first-time buyers would consider buying overseas and eight per cent have already done so, meaning over half of first-time buyers may end up buying abroad before purchasing in the UK.

"First-time buyers are being driven to sunnier climes for a route onto the property ladder as a result of the credit crisis which has been shaking the foundations of the UK property market," says James Caldwell, director at Fair Investment Company.

Another survey from HSBC has found that Britain is the third most expensive country to live in - after France and Norway -with wages going further in practically any other country. The study investigated how far British wages would go if an individual lived the same lifestyle abroad as they do in the UK, and found that a year's salary would last 14 months in Australia, 15 months in America, 18 months in New Zealand, and a massive two years in Egypt.

These factors may drive many first-time buyers to not just invest in overseas property, but to go a step further and relocate overseas to live in their first investment in 'bricks and mortar'.