Brazil interest rebounds as europe demand stays strong
- Brazil back in top 5 most popular destinations
- Enquiries for French property up 52pc in week following Greek election
- Greece in top 10 most popular destinations
Photo: Laszlo-Photo
The USA and Spain dominated December activity on TheMoveChannel.com, as the countries' recovering economies boosted confidence among investors. The two rivals continued to fight for buyers' attention at the start of 2015, with American real estate accounting for one in 10 (9.3 per cent) of all enquiries on the site in January. Spain remained the second most popular country for house hunters, accounting for approximately one in 12 enquiries (7.8 per cent).
While both retained their top rankings, though, the favourites each saw their share of enquiries decrease slightly month-on-month: USA's share of enquires edged down from 9.7 per cent, while Spain's share of enquiries slipped from 9.67 per cent.
Brazil was the biggest climber, shooting up nine places in the Top of the Props chart to claim fourth place, with 4.98 per cent of January's enquiries (up from 1.18 per cent in December). Brazil's rebound in popularity follows a year of sliding demand in the wake of the 2014 World Cup, knocking France down into fifth spot.
Demand for European property, though, remained strong, with both France and Italy seeing their share of enquiries increasing month-on-month. Italian property's share nearly doubled from 2.42 per cent to 4.55 per cent, while French property accounted for 4.68 per cent of enquiries, up from 3.54 per cent in December 2014.
The rising interest in France and Italy occurred as the eurozone faced a string of unprecendented upsets, including Switzerland's decision to unpeg the Franc against the euro, the ECB's introduction of QE and Greece's newly elected anti-austerity government. The ongoing weakness of the single currency, though, has boosted spending power for overseas buyers in the past month, particularly those from Britain and the US. Rather than be deterred from investing in eurozone countries, investors are stepping up their activity to take advantage of affordable opportunities.
Indeed, in the week following the Greek election result, in real terms, France saw enquiries surge 52 per cent from the previous seven days. Portugal saw enquiries rise 22 per cent week-on-week. Cyprus saw enquiries jump 43 per cent. Interest in Italy, Spain and Greece stayed steady. On a monthly basis, Greece climbed five places to re-enter TheMoveChannel.com's top 10 destinations in December 2014. The country held on to 10th place in January, just above India and the Bahamas.
Brazil also enjoyed a rise in demand in the week following the Greek election, with enquiries in real terms surging 69 per cent. During a month where events in Europe could potentially have destabilised the market, though, the TheMoveChannel.com's Top of the Props chart was largely unchanged.
TheMoveChannel.com Director Dan Johnson comments: "Brazil's rebound occurred despite a lack of any concerted marketing activity or new launches, which suggests the South American country could be seen by buyers as a safe haven away from the troubled eurozone. With the rise of expat favourite Australia from 27th place to 13th, though, and climbing demand for familiar continental hotspots such as Portugal, Brazil's bounce back could also be driven by the current return of lifestyle buyers to the global market, looking for winter sun and fresh starts at the beginning of a new year.
"The ongoing popularity of European property is a promising sign for the year ahead. It will take time for the impact of falling oil prices, Greece's new government and the newly introduced QE to become fully evident, but January 2014 saw demand for Europe remain steady, if not climb higher, thanks to the weakness of the single currency and despite any uncertainty. January held the potential for many market shifts, but the continuing presence of Turkey, Thailand, Bulgaria and India in the top 10 also indicates that they are considered stable and reliable by investors, even during times of wider turbulence."
Notes to Editors
About Lead Galaxy and TheMoveChannel.com
Founded in 1999, www.TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with more than 800,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
TheMoveChannel.com is one of more than a dozen international property sites operated under the Lead Galaxy brand. Lead Galaxy provides online marketing solutions to thousands of property companies worldwide, focusing on portal listings, email marketing, qualified leads, paid search and social media advertising.
The business is headquartered at 24 Jack’s Place, Corbet Place, Shoreditch, London, E1 6NN.
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