At a Glance: Hungary buyers have appetite for Budapest

by Georgina United Kingdom
Buyers of property in Hungary have an appetite for Budapest, TheMoveChannel.com’s At a Glance reveals. The infographic, based on activity on the property portal in the past 12 months, shows that real estate in the country’s capital is the most popular, accounting for almost four in 10 (38.28 per cent) of all Hungarian property searches.
•Budapest accounts for 4 in 10 Hungary property searches and 3 in 10 enquiries
•Heves generates 1 in 4 Hungarian enquiries, demand driven by spa resorts
•Heves enquiries up over 50pc in Q1 2013 from Q4 2012
 •Google searches for Hungarian property down in past 12 months
Budapest benefits from having one of the highest profiles in Hungary among foreign investors. Indeed, many buyers search specifically for known areas within the city, with Budapest District V, District VII and District VI all appearing in the top 10 most searched-for locations. Together, searches for property in the city and those three regions account for almost half (48.4 per cent) of all Hungary searches on TheMoveChannel.com.
That demand continues through to the purchase stage, with Budapest real estate generating 29 per cent of all Hungarian enquiries on the site. But Budapest has competition from another in-demand destination: Heves. The region is famous for its therapeutic hot springs, which have given rise to increasingly popular resorts. Heves now accounts for one quarter (24.95 per cent) of Hungarian enquiries.
Somogy is the third favourite destination for buyers, responsible for 13.24 per cent of enquiries. The region is also significantly sought-after, with Karad and Siofok both appearing in the top 10 most searched-for destinations, together accounting for 6.38 per cent of all searches. Heves, by contrast, is only the subject of 2.10 per cent of searches, suggesting that buyers on TheMoveChannel.com are attracted to Heves for specific developments rather than a general interest in the area.
The At a Glance infographic also charts activity on Google over the past year. Prospective buyers most commonly search for “property for sale in Hungary” and are particularly interested in “houses for sale in Hungary”. Villas or apartments for sale in the country, on the other hand, appear in no Google searches at all. Overall, searches for Hungarian property have actually decreased in the last year, suggesting that buyers remain too cautious to return to the recession-hit housing market.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“European investors such as the Irish have always had a taste for Hungary´s capital city, particularly before the recession, but the At a Glance infographic reveals the increasing importance of other groups in the Hungarian real estate market. Holiday home hunters are turning to towns such as Somogy’s Siofok for the picturesque surroundings of Lake Balaton, while Russia´s expanding middle class are investing in developments such as the Saloc International Resort & Spa in Heves, which now drives a significant proportion of Hungarian activity on TheMoveChannel.com.
“Searches for Hungarian property may be decreasing on Google, but enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com have remained consistent in Budapest over the last 12 months, while a range of opportunities in Heves have seen enquiries peak in March 2013, rising 53 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the previous quarter. If that trend continues in the coming 12 months, appetite for Heves could well eclipse the existing craving for Budapest property.”
Click here to see the full infographic
Notes to Editors 
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com/ and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

At a Glance: Barbados buyers head straight to Saint James

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom

Barbados property buyers head straight to Saint James, TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance reveals. The infographic, which depicts activity on the property portal over the last 12 months, shows that Saint James is the most popular region on the island, accounting for 38.83 per cent of all enquiries.

 

Famed for its Platinum Coast, the western region of Barbados beat rival Christ Church to dominate buyer demand. The runner-up region in the south coast was the second most popular area for house hunters, responsible for 30 per cent of enquiries.
Christ Church’s neighbour Saint Philip and Saint James’ next door region Saint Peter received the next highest number of enquiries, with 13.68 per cent and 13.57 per cent respectively. But buyers had little interest in the east coast and the north coast, with the regions of Saint Lucy, Saint Andrew and Saint John attracting no enquiries at all.
Saint James was the first destination of choice for many buyers, with the village of Holetown generating over 1 in 7 (15.18 per cent) property searches by location. But while Saint James accounted for 3 out of the top 10 most searched-for locations, Christ Church’s reputation among tourists attracted house hunters to 4 of the top 10, including the resorts of Atlantic Shores and Silver Sands. Indeed, demand for property in Hastings was particularly strong, receiving 9.4 per cent of searches.
The At a Glance series also analyses buyer behaviour on Google. “Property for sale in Barbados” and “Barbados property” were the most popular search terms, while phrases such as “Barbadian real estate” and “Barbadian property” occurred in almost no searches whatsoever. Buyers showed no particularly preference for property type, but activity visibly increased over the 12 months to March 2013, with searches increasing by 11 per cent in the three months from November 2012 to January 2013.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“It’s easy to see that Christ Church and Saint James are the most sought-after property destinations in Barbados. The former, famous for its surfing potential at hotspots such as Silver Sands, is more affordable than the stunning “Platinum Coast” of Saint James, but the At a Glance report shows that regardless of the island’s reputation for luxury property – or perhaps because of it, given the uncertain global economic climate – demand for Barbados property has remained consistent. In fact, Google searches have continued to climb since March 2012, with interest in “property for sale in Barbados” peaking in January 2013 and again in March 2013 – coinciding with a surge in activity on TheMoveChannel.com, when Barbados rose to become the 11th most popular destination on portal for the first time.”
Notes to Editors 
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com/ and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

At a Glance: Dubai Marina dominates UAE property

by Georgina United Kingdom

Dubai Marina dominates the UAE property market, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance, accounting for over a quarter of all property searches.

The infographic, which depicts activity on the portal over the last 12 months, shows that 27.89 per cent of searches for UAE property were targeted directly at Dubai’s canal city. The second most popular location is the desert resort Arabian Ranches, accounting for 1 in 10 searches, also located in Dubai.

Indeed, Dubai dictates international investment in the emirates, responsible for a staggering 87.06 per cent of enquiries in the last year. Its closest contender is Ras al-Khaimah, which generated just 7.11 per cent of enquiries, followed by Sharjah, which received 4.08 per cent, and Ajman, which took 1.75 per cent.

The other three emirates received no enquiries, failing to compete with the demand for Dubai property.

Nonertheless, the cities of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are both on buyers’ wish lists, attracting the third highest (9.54 per cent) and ninth highest (3.22 per cent) number of searches on TheMoveChannel.com. But the desirability of Dubai leaves the majority of investors heading straight to the emirate’s recovering market. Indeed, Dubai accounts for 8 out of the 10 most popular search locations – and 84.6 per cent of all UAE searches on the site.

As well as the Dubai Marina, the most sought-after real estate hotspots include Jumeirah Lake Towers, International City, Dubai Sports City and Dubai Waterfront.

The At a Glance report also analyses buyer behaviour on Google over the last 12 months, showing that Dubai’s dominance is not just limited to TheMoveChannel.com: investors searched for “UAE property” a total of 654 times in the last 12 months. “Dubai property”, on the other hand, occurred in 15,200 searches. Indeed, many general UAE-related property keywords received no searches at all.

Buyers most commonly searched for “Dubai apartments” and “apartments in Dubai”. The only other type of property to appear in a significant number of searches was houses, but the term occurred in just 2,830 compared to “Dubai apartments”, which featured in 7,170. Overall Google activity was at its highest between the months of March and May 2012. During the final months of 2012, overall UAE-related searches steadily declined, although searches for “Dubai property” remained relatively steady before climbing back to peak levels in February 2013.

TheMoveChannel.com Editor Ivan Radford comments: “Dubai’s rebound from the housing crisis has been quite incredible to witness, from slump to economic safe haven in little over a year – and the At a Glance infographic confirms the sheer desirability of Dubai real estate at the start of2013. The fact that some of the most popular resorts within the emirate are still under construction is telling, as investors return to the market regardless, drawn by the appeal of Dubai Marina and other luxury developments.

“In contrast, it’s interesting to see the stark lack of enquiries in the capital Abu Dhabi, although this is partly because of a lack of properties on the market: Abu Dhabi is still one of the top 10 searched-for locations in the UAE, but with no listings in the emirate on the site at present, investors are turning to the emirate next door instead. Dubai remains the clear favourite in the UAE at all stages of the buying process, dominating Google activity, location searches on TheMoveChannel.com and the purchasing stage too.”

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

At a Glance: Cape Verde property buyers bank on Boa Vista

by Georgina United Kingdom

More than half of the people buying property in Cape Verde bank on Boa Vista, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance infographic. The island may not be Cape Verde’s biggest but it certainly is the most popular, accounting for 53 per cent of the country’s property enquiries on the overseas portal in the last 12 months.

 

The infographic, which depicts activity on the site over the last year, shows that Sal is the second most popular real estate destination, responsible for 39.1 per cent of enquiries, followed by Sao Vicente, generating 3.98 per cent.
The largest island, Santiago, is far less in demand, ranking in sixth place with just 0.6 per cent of enquiries. Despite this, Santiago attracts almost the same number of island-level searches as Boa Vista (19.9 per cent and 22 per cent respectively).
On a more localised level, too, Cape Verde’s capital Praia (located on Santiago) is the second most sought-after destination, attracting 22.57 per cent of searches. Sal is home to the most searched-for place, with 62.87 per cent of searches directed straight at the island’s town of Santa Maria. Boa Vista’s Sal Rei, on the other hand, receives only 6.33 per cent of buyer searches.
But while Santiago and Sal are top of investment wish lists, when it comes to sealing the deal, buyers consistently end up banking on Boa Vista.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“Sal has traditionally been the most popular island in Cape Verde, but this month’s At a Glance infographic is a snapshot of Boa Vista as it overtakes Sal as the property hotspot of choice. The island’s profile has been rising for some time among tourists – it now outperforms Sal by the number of guests arriving. Buyers may still look to Sal’s Santa Maria first, but either because of its improving investment potential or because there are simply more properties for sale on the island, Boa Vista now comes out on top for transactions. In another year’s time, Boa Vista’s red dot may well be even brighter.”
The infographic also shows buyer behaviour on Google in the last 12 months. The most commonly used term for searches was “Cape Verde property”, followed by the equally general “property for sale in Cape Verde”. More specific search terms, such as “houses for sale in Cape Verde” and “apartments in Cape Verde”, occurred in almost no searches at all.
Editor Ivan Radford adds:
“The lack of searches for specific types of property in Cape Verde is surprising, especially compared to previous At a Glance reports for other countries. The relative size of the country’s islands, though, seems to make investors less concerned about the kind of real estate they are buying, choosing instead to focus on location.”
Click here to view the infographic.

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with more than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Property Inspector: What a difference a tweet makes

by Georgina United Kingdom

TheMoveChannel.com´s Property Inspector, taking a closer look at global real estate each month. In the first podcast of 2013, the inspector investigates something that´s become a permanent fixture in the property world: social media.

Do you like property on Facebook? Do you follow property on Twitter? Thousands of people do, from house hunters and journalists to estate agents and portals. Social media has transformed the way we receive the latest news, communicate with friends and even how we interact with celebrities.

But how has it changed the property industry? Can it be used to sell a house? Does it help buyers find one? Is it the future for property portals?

Property Inspector interrogates Charlotte Ashton, Director of AB Property Marketing, and Andrea Morgan, aka @RightmoveAddict on Twitter, who has moved from real estate tweeter to co-founder of A Passion for Homes, to get some answers.

Charlotte, social media has been around for ages, but does it actually do anything?
“The property world was quite to slow to embrace social media. Over the last 18 months, we’ve been working with more and more clients who have asked if they should do it and we’ve said yes, but they have to do it properly. It’s not just about, say, tweeting property listings or sending messages once in a blue moon. Lots of journalists use Twitter as a tool because it’s more immediate than press releases or emails – so from our point of a view, we use it all the time.”

Expectations have shifted among consumers. High street stores, such as HMV, are closing now because they can’t keep up with online companies. Has there been a similar shift of expectation in real estate?

“Exactly, yes. People expect more from companies now. It’s a real-time presence. I just posted this morning construction photos of a development in Bacolet Bay, Grenada, for @PropFrontiers on Twitter. If you waited for that in old-school time, it would have taken weeks!”

How has social media changed the activity of house hunting for buyers?
“I think it gives a different, more relaxed approach to finding property. Because it’s not something you do just at work, you can contact people at any time of the day.”

It definitely makes it easier to share content or listings with friends or partners, but it’s also easier to contact agents, isn’t it?

“Yeah, for sure. I was looking for a house and I arranged to do a couple of viewings with an estate agent before work. I made sure I was there before 8am and he didn’t show up. I couldn’t get hold of him – the mobile number, office numbers didn’t work – so I went on Twitter and within five minutes I got a reply. And at the end of the day, the MD of the whole company got in touch to apologise!”

Andrea, you’ve worked with Charlotte on several marketing campaigns, but how did your addiction start?
“I’ve loved property for as long as I can remember! When I came across Rightmove, I was completely hooked, looking at properties all the time – not because I wanted to buy, just because I like to look at them. I decided to join Twitter. I can’t remember why, but I couldn’t think of what to be called. People used to call me the Rightmove Addict, so I just put that on!”

You’ve gone from social media to launching your own property website, A Passion for Homes, this month. How has Twitter helped?

“It’s the access to big brands that you’ve never had before. For example, Rightmove picked up on my name and they’ve become a big part of the business, sponsoring areas on the website. That never would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for Twitter! On my personal blog, I also showcase properties that agents send me – these companies are forward-thinking and understand how social media can get their message out to an audience without using traditional methods.”

We talk about buyers and sellers, but social media has changed the property landscape, hasn’t it? The categories have disappeared…

“If you’re starting on Twitter now, the last thing you want to be doing is selling! You’ve got to change your whole methodology of thinking. You need to engage and interact. Some company Twitter accounts don’t even mention their own products, they just quirky cartoons or photos and you want to be following because it makes you laugh.”

Click here to listen to the full investigation – or subscribe to the TheMoveChannel.com´s podcast in iTunes.

Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.TheMoveChannel.com and the office address is 45 Lafone Street, Shad Thames, London, SE1 2LX.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Investment Watch: Property bonds prove attractive alternative

by Georgina United Kingdom

Property bonds are an increasingly attractive alternative for investors, according to TheMoveChannel.com´s Investment Watch. The monthly report, which ranks demand for the portal´s listings, found that a US property bond scheme generated the most interest in December.

The bonds, which promise fixed yields of up to 16% per annum, attracted even more attention than discounted bank-owned apartments in Spain. The one-bed repossessed flats, located near Vinaròs, were reduced in price by over 50 per cent with mortgages available directly from the bank. But the affordable holiday homes only received the second highest number of enquiries on the site, with the bonds´ combination of low price (£9,360) and high returns proving hard to resist.

Indeed, out of the 10 most popular listings on TheMoveChannel.com in the final month of last year, nine were rental opportunities as buyers continued to prioritise income during a tough financial climate.

Time-sensitive deals, such as apartments in the Rhones-Alpes ahead of the ski season and Pattaya condos with a discount expiring at the end of the year, generated a significant response, pushing the listings into third and fourth place respectively.

Other investments were geography-dependent, with a buy-to-let opportunity in Devon (fourth place) providing a more familiar market for UK buyers compared to a spa resort in Hungary. The latter country, though, benefited from its appeal to European investors, accounting for two of the top 10 listings (seventh and 10th).

Bulgaria and Spain made up the rest of the chart, alongside a buy-to-let villa in Syracuse. But when it came to returns on investment, the bonds topped traditional bricks and mortar, combining the appeal of US real estate with the trend towards tightening belts.

Ray Withers, co-founding director of Property Frontiers, explains why the US investment properties won over so many buyers: “Managing a buy to let on the other side of the world is just too challenging for some investors that don´t have the time to dedicate. That doesn´t mean they don´t want to be in the US market, though.

“The crash in US property prices followed by the recent beginnings of a recovery has created a great deal of interest in US property. Investors see it as one of the greatest property investment opportunities in a generation. However, property ownership can be expensive in the US with taxes and community fees etc.

“With this particular investment, investors have the opportunity to profit from US property without the hassle and risk of direct ownership. They get to earn regular, fixed returns which are above market yields and have a defined, fixed exit strategy after 5 years. It´s basically the easiest and safest way for smaller scale investors to invest in the USA.

“People also understand the business model that enables the attractive returns to be delivered. The company we have partnered with (who has a strong track record and evidence of doing this) buys properties in distress, renovates them and sells them on for a realistic profit. Continuously reinvesting means that the profits are compounded and the returns are delivered. Underpinning it is a recovering US property market and a team of experts on the ground.”

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.TheMoveChannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

At a Glance: Pattaya property twice as popular as Phuket

by Charlotte Ashton World
Property in Pattaya is almost three times more popular than property in Phuket, according to TheMoveChannel.com´s latest At a Glance report.
The infographic, which depicts activity on the overseas portal over the last 12 months, shows that the Chon Buri hotspot accounted for one-third (32.9 per cent) of all searches for Thai real estate – almost three times as many as the city of Phuket (13.51 per cent).
Phuket and Pattaya have long rivalled each other for investors´ attention, but the latter’s beaches attracted more interest than the former’s nightlife in the 12 months from December 2011. Both cities dwarf the capital of Bangkok, which accounted for only 5.38 per cent of searches by buyers, making it the sixth most popular destination in the country.
When it comes to enquiries, though, the infographic paints a different picture, with Phuket responsible for the most buyer activity.
Property in the province of Phuket generated 44.1 per cent of enquiries, ahead of Chon Buri, which received 42.9 per cent.
Again, both areas eclipse Bangkok, which took just 0.18 per cent of enquiries, highlighting the dominance of the two tourist hotspots. Indeed, the closest competition facing the pair is the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, which accounted for 5.22 per cent of buyer enquiries. The beach resort of Hua Hin is the main attraction in Prachuap, accounting for 10.91 per cent of searches on the site. But Patong Beach is not far behind, with Phuket´s island coastline responsible for 6.62 per cent of searches.
The At a Glance infographic also analyses investor behaviour on Google over the last year. Buyers most commonly search for “Thailand property” and “property in Thailand”, with activity steadily rising throughout 2012. “Houses for sale in Thailand” are the most popular type of property, which may come as some surprise given the number of condos on the market, but while house searches remained static from May 2012 onwards, searches for “Thailand apartments” showed signs of increasing.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“Phuket and Pattaya have been duking it out for years now on TheMoveChannel.com and the At a Glance infographic gives a clear picture of which is more popular: buyers are committed to purchasing property in Phuket, but the age-old appeal of a seaside home means that the majority still look to Pattaya first. The beach resort´s profile would have been boosted further by the fact that it remained unaffected by last year´s floods.”
“But that might change next year. In 2011, the province of Chonburi took the highest number of enquiries on the portal (39.1 per cent vs. 30.4 per cent), only for Phuket to steal the title this year by a margin of 1.2 per cent. Chonburi´s enquiries peaked in April 2012 before steadily decreasing, while Phuket´s enquiries remained steady throughout the year. Is it simply because Phuket had higher quality properties on the market? Or with the country´s housing market back at full speed after the flooding, are buyers finding a new favourite?
“Judging by the data so far, Phuket is currently on track to become 2013´s most searched-for destination in Thailand. Will Pattaya fight back? Either way, one thing that isn´t in question is the country´s popularity: enquiries for Thai real estate on TheMoveChannel.com have almost trebled since 2010 and with searches for property in Thailand increasing on Google, demand is only set to keep on climbing.”
Click here to see the full infographic – http://www.themovechannel.com/news/2c572e21-515c/
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

One in seven British citizens living overseas said they would stay abroad for "the favourable cost of living

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom

Online video content is quickly becoming a valuable asset to property companies. Quick and easy to digest, online video is a great way to engage with potential buyers and bring to life people, products and places and with Experian Hitwise reporting that visits to online video websites in the UK have increased by 36% year on year, it’s no wonder video has become a key element for today’s property professionals.

Just to highlight how important video has become, YouTube recently reported that it now receives around 3 billion views per day while a report from comscore.com shows that there has been a 66% increase in the last year of end-consumers viewing video content on mobile platforms across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Charlotte Ashton, Managing Director of leading property PR agency AB Property Marketing comments,
“Online video content is being used more and more these days by PR professionals for the distribution of news. We have been actively encouraging our property clients to invest in online video whether that’s providing expert commentary or video tours of stunning homes. Our client Taylor Wimpey España for example has embraced this concept, producing bespoke video content for each of its properties. When we conduct video news releases we notice a real spark in the number of “click throughs” from journalists. Video simply generates more interest.”
Overseas property portal, TheMoveChannel.com recently introduced online video content to its site and has seen impressive results. Director, Dan Johnson explains:
“The impact a video can have upon the marketing of a property is huge. TheMoveChannel.com introduced videos to its property listings and we were surprised to see the difference so quickly. Each video added to a property listing has now been watched by over half of the visitors to that page – buyers clearly enjoy the chance to take a closer look at their dream place in the sun.
“Because it generates their videos automatically without any extra hassle and is compatible with all internet browsers, agents and private sellers are equally keen to take advantage of the service. Only this week we added another 17,000 videos to the site!
For more information on the importance of online video content, please contact AB Property on 0845 054 7542 or at www.abpropertymarketing.co.uk.

At a Glance: Bulgarian property buyers head straight to the beach

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom

Bulgarian property buyers do like to be beside the seaside, according to TheMoveChannel.com´s latest At a Glance. The infographic, which depicts all Bulgarian real estate activity on the portal for the last 12 months, shows that investors head straight for the coast, with 40.05 per cent of buyers searching for property in Sunny Beach.

The interest in Bulgaria´s biggest Black Sea resort is a colourful indicator of the role that the seaside has to play in the country´s market. Indeed, the Burgas province on the East coast accounted for almost one in five (19.36 per cent) Bulgarian enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com in the last year. Burgas´ beachside appeal is so well-known, in fact, that investors are looking to the coast before they even start to view property; it accounts for four of the top 10 most searched-for places to buy a home.

But it is not just beaches that bring in the buyers: the mountains do too. Three of the top 10 searches targeted real estate in ski resorts, with Pamporovo, Borovets and Bansko all falling inside the top five. That demand snowballs directly into enquiries, reveals the infographic, with three of the top 10 most popular regions all famous for their ski accommodation opportunities.

Indeed, the Smolyan province, home to Pamporovo, was the third most popular area in terms of enquiries, accounting for 14.06 per cent of activity since November 2011. It is no coincidence that Bansko´s home province of Blagoevrad is also in the 10 most popular provinces, generating 4.02 per cent of enquiries – enough to earn it ninth place, just below the province of capital city Sofia.

It is interesting, then, that the most popular place for Bulgarian property in the last 12 months was neither a ski nor beach resort. The province of Veliko Turnovo, which boasts a central position in the country and an array of historical landmarks, has a different kind of tourist appeal. This was strong enough to generate the highest number of enquiries on the portal, narrowly beating Burgas with a share of 22.19 per cent.

The At a Glance series also analyses the search behaviour of Bulgarian house hunters on Google. The chart shows that buyers most commonly searched for “Bulgarian property” and “Bulgarian properties”, with activity peaking between the months of February and June. While overall search volumes broadly stayed steady, searches for “apartments for sale in Bulgaria” and “houses for sale in Bulgaria” both grew over the 12 months. Interest in flats more than trebled from 104 searches in the three months to January 2012 to 326 in the three months to October 2012, while houses saw demand rise from 970 searches to 1190 over the same periods.

Editor Ivan Radford comments: “Bulgaria has been in and out of TheMoveChannel.com´s top 10 most popular countries in the last year and this latest At a Glance infographic gives us a chance to see why. Much has been written about the low prices of Bulgaria´s property and, more controversially, the market´s reliability, but the infographic clearly shows that the country´s main appeal to buyers lies in tourist hotspots. Both for investors seeking rental yields and lifestyle buyers, Bulgaria´s seasonal balance of seaside towns and ski resorts gives it a year-round potential that other countries do not have.

“As the country tries to recover from the global financial crisis, it is interesting to note that searches on Google have increased for both houses and apartments – either because Bulgaria´s non-eurozone economy is drawing in more investors, or simply because buyers becoming more specific in what they are looking for.

“More revealing, perhaps, is that searches for the plural “Bulgarian properties” and “Bulgarian properties for sale” were both more common than the singular. Is that a sign that investors looking for cheap rental opportunities are more interested in portfolios of property in Bulgaria as much as individual holiday homes? Either way, as the market starts to stabilize, Burgas´ red mark on the map only looks set to become even brighter. ”

Click here to see the full infographic.

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Top of the Props: Buyers bank on German property

by Georgina Germany

 

Buyers are banking on German property again, TheMoveChannel.com´s Top of the Props reveals.

Spain remained the most popular destination for real estate in August thanks to a large number of distressed properties on the market, but the Euro recession brought equal success for Germany, which jumped six places to join TheMoveChannel.com´s Top 10.

Germany has long been regarded as a safe haven in Europe´s uncertain economy. Indeed, it is no coincidence that as Moody´s lowers its ratings for Europe, German property generated almost double the number of enquiries from overseas buyers than in the previous month. The country was the ninth most popular destination on the site in August, leapfrogging Greece as well as July´s big climber Bulgaria.

Germany´s surge was accompanied by another rising star: Malta. The tiny island rose four places from 12th to sit just above Germany in the chart. The growth in popularity marked each country´s second appearance in TheMoveChannel.com´s Top 10 within the past 12 months, as investors bank on familiar property markets that have resisted recession. 

And buyers are going back to them in bigger numbers: Germany was last in the Top 10 in September 2011, accounting for 2.19 per cent of the portal´s enquiries. Now, almost one year later, that figure has grown to 2.38 per cent. Similarly, Malta´s share of activity has gone from 2.59 per cent in May 2012 to 2.68 per cent in August.

Director Dan Johnson comments: "It´s hard to remember a time when real estate headlines were not overshadowed by the Eurozone crisis. The recession has meant different things for different countries. Despite Spain´s poor financial outlook, international buyers have seized the chance to snap up bargain holiday homes along the Costas. Germany, on the other hand, has made no political friends in outlining its plans for the single currency, but its economic authority has boosted its profile for real estate investors. While other European countries worry about debt levels and falling house prices, Germany now faces rising property values thanks to high demand.

"The result is a mixed bag for overseas buyers, but once they have chosen a property market to bank with, they clearly like to stay loyal. It´s telling that time and time again, the Top of the Props chart is dominated by European destinations. Real estate headlines will only stop being overshadowed by the Eurozone when buyers lose interest in its property.  And judging by the repeated popularity of Germany and Malta, that won´t be any time soon."

The full breakdown of the Top 40 is as follows:

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.TheMoveChannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack’s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.