A new survey released by UK-based financial services company Prudential shows that retirement property choices are still an important factor for the over-55s.
Taking sixth place on the retirement bucket list is ‘Buy a house abroad’, ahead of to ‘Live in another country’, which is in 14th position.
“This shows that the majority of retirees want to buy a holiday home overseas as opposed to making the big move to become expats themselves,” according to a statement from AB Property Marketing.
One option proving popular for this group of buyers is fractional property, which allows owners to visit their property during certain times each year. They get to save time and money on the upkeep of the property, or having to pay for months of the year that they will not be visiting.
It also allows buyers to purchase property abroad without being tied to it through a move overseas.
English couple Colleen and Duncan Rouse did just this, going through fractional ownership company Appassionata to buy a part-share in a three-storey town house in Petritoli, Italy.
“So many of our friends have given up their ‘holiday homes’ because they seem to spend all their time working hard fixing or cleaning or preparing for friends to visit. We love the idea that everything is prepared for you so that when you arrive you can just relax and enjoy your time there and then leave with nothing to worry about,” said Colleen, adding that the whole purchase process was very transparent and clear.
The online survey was conducted between 6 and 10 July 2015, and polled 1,157 UK adults aged 45 and above, including 645 aged 55 or older.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
