Cash-strapped British buyers seem to have lost interest in properties located in Southeast Asia, based on data released by RightMove Overseas, a leading property website in the UK.
The results of the report, which compared search statistics between July 2008 and July 2010, do not bode well for countries in Southeast Asia which have earlier enjoyed great interest from British buyers.
Malaysia and the Philippines were the two biggest losers, recording 67.30 percent and 76.39 percent in search activity, respectively. Meanwhile, Thailand witnessed a 51.07 percent drop in interest, said the report.
“Two years on from when the Credit Crunch first started to really bite, it’s clear that the overseas property market is radically different. Many of the market dynamics that used to be in place have gone, some would argue for good. For example, you’d be hard pushed to find a casual investor looking to make a quick buck by flipping off-plan apartments in out of the way places, availability of mortgage finance is much harder and many businesses have failed to adapt to the new conditions,” said Robin Wilson, head Overseas at Rightmove.
Mr. Wilson, however, noted that British interest for overseas properties has not declined. “People are still dreaming about a life abroad. What’s clear is that whilst only a few countries have really bucked the trend and gained on their 2008 position, there are big gaps in how fast some countries are recovering, if at all.”
“Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has been hit very hard, struggling to regain the peaks it saw at almost 80 per cent fewer searches than 2008. Eastern Europe has also taken a battering with previously hot destinations for investment returns falling out of favour. At the other end of the scale, Germany is the undoubted success story. It’s maybe not as glamorous as France or Italy, but has many of the same benefits and seems to be carving out a niche of its own. On this evidence it’s certainly undervalued and overlooked.”
Thailand ranked 17th in its Top 20 list of most searched nations, making up 0.85 percent of all enquiries. It is the only country in Southeast Asia to be part of the list, though it fell 14 notches in the chart.