Forget Spain, France, Florida and the other usual suspects of overseas property, this time it was the turn of Thailand to take the top spot in TheMoveChannel.com’s monthly Investment Watch.

The report, which charts the level of interest in the overseas property portal’s listings, saw a condo in Pattaya attract the most enquiries In October. What was it about the luxury Thailand apartment that triggered such a torrent of attention?

The popularity of Pattaya’s property may seem surprising after Thailand’s extensive flooding, but investors were attracted to the resort a matter of days before the tragic event took place. The demand for the luxury coastal condos, located 600 metres from the beach, actually foreshadowed industry predictions, as Colliers International Thailand suggested that the water-damaged homes would lead to a rise in interest in condominiums.

Indeed, apartments attracted the most attention from investors in October, accounting for 6 out of the 10 most popular properties on the site. Closely following Thailand’s condos were flats in Cumbria and new apartments in Spain, but each were driven by different investment needs.

The Spanish apartments show the continuing demand for seaside property in the popular region of Murcia. The new build properties, located close to Murcia’s airport and the upcoming Paramount Theme Park, are a traditional lifestyle buyer choice, eligible for a 50 per cent discount in VAT until the end of the year.

But apartments are also strong opportunities for buy to let investment. Cumbria’s two-bedroom flats (promising 9 to 11 per cent gross yields) were a familiar runner-up to Thailand, dropping one place in popularity after drawing the most enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com in September.

As rents in the UK are revealed to be the highest in Western Europe, buy to let apartments remain a secure form of investment. London-based accommodation, in particular, has the highest rental rates on the continent, with Westminster hotel units holding a firm fourth position in October’s chart.

Istanbul also had apartments to offer investors last month, as Turkey’s booming economy and high student housing demand combined to attract the sixth-highest number of enquiries for Kucukcekmece’s one-bedroom flats. Other non-eurozone markets also demonstrated their appeal, as investors considered properties as diverse as Hungary homes in the heart of Budapest to apartments in Bulgaria’s cheap ski resorts.

Half-price apartments in Egypt’s Hurghada resort were equally popular in seventh place, providing below market value real estate to investors tightening their purse strings. But with buy to let opportunities both in the UK and overseas and new condos in Thailand cheaper than repossessed homes, October proved that apartments remain a popular form of investment, come hell or high water.

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.

TheMovechannel.com has launched a new partnership with Currency Index, offering real estate agents buyer leads and marketing services when they participate in their currency referral scheme.

The leading independent overseas property portal, with over 250,000 visitors and 5,000 property enquiries per month, has teamed up with the experienced FX specialists to help both agents and consumers through the process of purchasing property abroad.

The new agreement between the overseas property heavyweights will give agents who recommend clients to the FSA-regulated currency broker leads from TheMoveChannel.com, which means that a quick currency referral can help pay for their monthly marketing costs. Agents can list their properties across TheMoveChannel.com portals, and also receive qualified buyer leads from the TMC client referral team.

The deal is good for house hunters too. Currency conversions through major high street banks often lead to high exchange rates. The amount consumers spend on exchanging money is estimated to be £1 billion per year – in September, Consumer Focus even issued a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading about the amount Britons pay in exchange charges. But Currency Index’s bank-beating services can keep the cost of a holiday home purchase down.

The partnership will integrate the currency specialist’s services seamlessly into the buying process, providing a dedicated point of contact to help agents and buyers at every stage of a property sale.

TheMoveChannel.com Commercial Director Robin Brayne commented:

"The integration of Currency Index into TheMoveChannel.com’s services will make a big difference to all of our customers. Agents will benefit from advertising on the portal and buyers can be assured of a cheaper exchange cost away from the high street. It’s great to be able to work with another experienced overseas company to provide a service that genuinely benefits everyone."

For more on Currency Index services available through TheMoveChannel.com, visit our dedicated currency microsite http://currency.themovechannel.com/ and for further information about TheMoveChannel.com please call 0207 952 7650 or email Robin Brayne on robin@themovechannel.com
 

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.
 

TheMoveChannel.com has signed a new deal with Zoopla to add the real estate site’s UK property to its extensive international database of property listings.

The agreement will see the leading overseas portal extend its portfolio to include domestic real estate, meeting the increasingly strong global demand for UK residential and buy-to-let property.

As international investment in UK real estate continues to rise, TheMoveChannel.com will enable the Lead Galaxy network to provide more opportunities to the 600,000 buyers who visit its portals each month.

Director Dan Johnson comments, “Lead Galaxy is thrilled to announce this partnership between TheMoveChannel.com and Zoopla. This year, investors from China, Russia and Scandinavia have all shown a growing interest in UK property, particularly the booming buy-to-let market. Nearly 50 per cent of our visitors are based outside the UK, and combining TheMoveChannel.com’s international presence with Zoopla’s portfolio will provide investment opportunities to buyers who otherwise wouldn’t necessarily be aware of them.”

By supplying customers with Zoopla’s real estate in addition to its own catalogue of overseas property, TheMoveChannel.com looks forward to remaining the leading independent overseas property portal both at home and abroad.

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.
 

America is now the second most popular overseas property destination in the world, according to the latest Top of the Props report from TheMoveChannel.com.

After a long-running battle between France and Spain at the top of the chart, the US has unexpectedly turned the two-horse race into a three-way competition for top spot. The country rose by two places in the rankings, replacing the traditional runner-up as the surprise second favourite for buyers in October.

America has always been one of the most popular places for foreign real estate investment, alongside France, Italy, Portugal and Turkey. But while Spain remains the country of choice for buyers (receiving 3 per cent more enquiries than the month before), America saw an increase of 1.06 per cent in enquiries last month.

That number may seem like a small increase, but interest in US property has grown by 3 per cent over the past three months, indicating a consistent appetite from overseas buyers for the country´s heavily discounted property market. France had 1.57 per cent fewer enquiries last month, while interest in Portugal also waned, by 2.42 per cent – perhaps a sign that the continuing Euro crisis is sapping interest in continental property markets.

America´s ascension was just one of several surprises, as Cyprus and Thailand both jumped several places to enter the Top 10 most popular destinations. Cyprus has been suffering from unemployment and economic woes in the years since the housing boom, but the country is now starting to claw back buyers, as property prices dropped for the sixth quarter in a row last month. New legislation to allow buyers to officially receive property title deeds is also encouraging investment, with many foreign investors already taking advantage of the more transparent system.

The Thai property market has just been hit by major flooding, although high-rise condominium sales are expected to grow as a result. Indeed, overall property transactions in Bangkok actually increased by 1,500 during the second quarter of 2011, according to CB Richard Ellis. But while Thailand and Cyprus made October a month of surprises, the biggest shock remains the US victory over France, as real estate away from the Eurozone continues to demonstrate its pull.

Director Dan Johnson comments: “French real estate has been seen as a safe investment zone in Europe for some time, so America snatching second place is a great achievement. The US market is currently full of foreclosures and repossessed property, with the affordable prices tempting buyers away from the French ski slopes and into the States.

“It´s interesting to see Cyprus and Thailand regain their status as former Top 10 property destinations. The flooding may see Thailand´s popularity decrease next month, but Cyprus´ low prices leave a lot of room for investment as buyers look for familiar markets amid ongoing economic uncertainty.”

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.
 

AB Property Marketing has added to its growing client base with the established property PR company being appointed by TheMoveChannel.com as its media relations consultant.

Established in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is a marketplace for overseas and investment property, allowing agents, developers and private owners to advertise property for sale to a monthly audience of nearly 250,000 users. Advertisers can list all types of property for sale on the site, including houses, flats, holiday homes, land, commercial property, alternative investments and auction property.

The privately-owned portal holds a database of over 400,000 properties currently for sale – one of the largest sets of proprietary listings in the industry and its visitor base means it is widely recognised as being the leading specialist overseas property portal in the sector.

Dan Johnson, MD and Founder of www.TheMoveChannel.com, said:

“TheMoveChannel.com has grown and developed considerably since its inception some 12 years ago. In addition to offering all kinds of property for sale in around 100 global markets, potential buyers can browse the site for information on obtaining finance, currency exchange and legal services as well as insightful market news from ‘The Move Channel Daily’, our bespoke in-house newsletter.

“Our team is dedicated to international investment property, with many having first-hand experience of investing. We are proud to offer visitors one of the widest selections of properties available and therefore have appointed AB Property Marketing to further raise awareness of the brand, our successes and the various new products and services we are launching soon.”

What can www.TheMoveChannel.com offer the Media?

ü Independent data on over 100 global markets from Albania to Wales

ü Average property asking prices

ü Enquiry rates over time

ü Most sought after geographical locations

ü Hot new buying trends

ü Expert independent market commentary from experienced investor and MD, Dan Johnson.

Charlotte Ashton, Director of AB Property Marketing, comments,

“With over 500,000 visitors to www.TheMoveChannel.com and its Partner Network each month, the portal provides a valuable, independent insight into the international property industry and it is a pleasure to be representing them.”

For more information, independent data and expert market comment contact AB Property Marketing on +44 (0) 845 054 7524 or visit the Media Centre for the very latest news

AB Property Marketing has added to its growing client base with the established property PR company being appointed by TheMoveChannel.com as its media relations consultant.

Established in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is a marketplace for overseas and investment property, allowing agents, developers and private owners to advertise property for sale to a monthly audience of nearly 250,000 users. Advertisers can list all types of property for sale on the site, including houses, flats, holiday homes, land, commercial property, alternative investments and auction property.

The privately-owned portal holds a database of over 400,000 properties currently for sale – one of the largest sets of proprietary listings in the industry and its visitor base means it is widely recognised as being the leading specialist overseas property portal in the sector.

Dan Johnson, MD and Founder of www.TheMoveChannel.com, said:

“TheMoveChannel.com has grown and developed considerably since its inception some 12 years ago. In addition to offering all kinds of property for sale in around 100 global markets, potential buyers can browse the site for information on obtaining finance, currency exchange and legal services as well as insightful market news from ‘The Move Channel Daily’, our bespoke in-house newsletter.

“Our team is dedicated to international investment property, with many having first-hand experience of investing. We are proud to offer visitors one of the widest selections of properties available and therefore have appointed AB Property Marketing to further raise awareness of the brand, our successes and the various new products and services we are launching soon.”

What can www.TheMoveChannel.com offer the Media?

• Independent data on over 100 global markets from Albania to Wales
• Average property asking prices
• Enquiry rates over time
• Most sought after geographical locations
• Hot new buying trends
• Expert independent market commentary from experienced investor and MD, Dan Johnson.

Charlotte Ashton, Director of AB Property Marketing, comments,

“With over 500,000 visitors to www.TheMoveChannel.com and its Partner Network each month, the portal provides a valuable, independent insight into the international property industry and it is a pleasure to be representing them.”

For more information, independent data and expert market comment contact AB Property Marketing on +44 (0) 845 054 7524 or visit the Media Centre for the very latest news http://www.abpropertymarketing.co.uk/html/media_centre.php.