Britons eye up property bargains in recession-hit europe

Eight out of 10 Britons looking to buy a holiday home abroad are interested in those European countries which have been hit worst by the recession.

Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are now lumped together under the unflattering acronym of the PIIGS. They’re up to their eyes in debt and, in the case of Portugal, Ireland and Greece, they’ve had to be bailed out to keep them afloat.

So 82 per cent of Brits interested in buying abroad in the next 12 months are looking to these countries in the hope that prices have hit rock bottom and they can pick up a bargain, according to research by foreign exchange specialist currencies.co.uk.

Analyst Stephen Hughes says: “We’ve seen a big increase in inquiries for most of the PIIGS nations, the only exception being Greece. Of these countries, Spain has been the most popular by quite a way, and while interest is still behind that in France, the evidence suggests that interest in Spain is growing much faster.”

Source: The Telegraph