Print

February Top of the Props - Italy nabs the top spot

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Old favourites made an appearance on TheMoveChannel.com's February Top of the Props chart after several months out of the limelight, suggesting that the current economic climate may have caused investors to lose confidence in less traditional markets and return to more established markets once more...

Our Top of the Props chart provides a monthly pop chart snapshot of the most popular countries on the site and last month, Italy reigned supreme, attracting the most interest from visitors to the site.

Italy

Visitors to the site in February found a new love for Italy as it climbed three places to nab the top spot in last month's chart.  

As well as boasting a well established and highly active tourist market and easy accessibility from many European cities, Italy has long been an attractive proposition for investors.

Properties in the well known spots, such as Tuscany and the Lakes, can command sky high prices, but there are areas of the country that remain relatively undiscovered and have prices to match. Areas such as Le Marche, near Ancona and Puglia are just some of these up and coming areas that are ripe for investment.

Italy will never lose its appeal as a holiday destination and thus rental potential on any property you do buy should be fairly strong. As many low cost airlines now fly to many regional parts of Italy, this will encourage swarms of tourists to these previously untapped areas.

Beautiful Bulgaria

Bulgaria, which underwent one of the largest property booms in recent years, climbed six places to take third place on February's Top of the Props chart.

The Black Sea Coast is hugely popular with overseas buyers and Bulgaria's Roman, Greek and Thracian historical attractions - which include nine UNESCO world heritage sites - also draw hoards of tourists each year.

Bulgaria's wealth of ski resorts are a haven for winter sports enthusiasts and a ski holiday here remains cheaper than in many other European ski destinations. For those who enjoy sun rather than snow, the Black Sea Coast boasts a reliable, warm climate throughout the summer months, with the average temperature sitting at 27 degrees centigrade.

Easy accessibility from many European cities and cheap, short flights add to Bulgaria's appeal.

Compared to other European capitals, Bulgaria's capital city Sofia is still an extremely affordable place to buy.

Dan Johnson, Director of TheMoveChannel.com, said, "In terms of average prices, Sofia still has some way to go to catch up with Western European cities.

"But as the general level of wages continues to rise, expect the price growth to continue," he added.

Vive la France!

France climbed six places to nab sixth place in February's chart. Buying an investment property in a market as established and popular as France offers investors a safe option with plenty of opportunity to make money.

Those hunting for a solid property investment should look to France as investors have enjoyed a history of strong rental and sale returns over the years and the country looks set to remain a holiday hotspot.

France has long been topping the list of one of the best loved tourist destinations and, with such easy accessibility from many European cities, including a fast Eurostar service from London; it looks set to retain that title.

The buzz and culture in Paris, Nice and Cannes also continues to attract holidaymakers back year after year.

Other movers and shakers

January's winner USA had to make do with second place on February's Top of the Props chart. Whether or not the USA's ailing housing market can make a real come back remains to be seen, but, as I wrote in February's Investment Property Watch feature (posted on TheMoveChannel.com yesterday, Wednesday March 4^th), sales are on the rise as international cash buyers look to snap up foreclosed properties at a bargain.

Old classic Spain made a comeback after months out of the limelight, and nabbed fourth place, swiftly followed by the United Arab Emirates in fifth place and Egypt, which fell four spots, in seventh place.

Turkey grabbed eighth place, whilst Brazil - which fell by a whopping seven places - and Portugal brought up the rear, taking ninth and tenth places respectively in February's chart.

February Top of the Props chart

Hide table

Overall Enquiry Volume for February 2009
Rank	Country	Share	Change	Comment
1	Italy	9.5	Up 3	New to top 10!
2	USA	9.23	Down 1
3	Bulgaria	4.69	Up 6
4	Spain	4.6	Up 10	New to top 10!
5	UAE	4.54	Up 2
6	France	3.79	Up 6	New to top 10!
7	Egypt	3.79	Down 4
8	Turkey	3.73	Down 3
9	Brazil	3.38	Down 7
10	Portugal	3.11	Up 1	New to top 10!
11	Germany	2.81	Up 2
12	Cyprus	2.6	Up 8
13	Dominican Republic	2.21	Down 3
14	Thailand	2.06	Down 6
15	Greece	1.49	Non-mover
16	Croatia	1.34		Highest New Entry
17	Bahamas	1.05	Up 6
18	Barbados	0.84		New Entry
19	Macedonia	0.84		New Entry
20	Sweden	0.84	Down 2
21	Costa Rica	0.81	Down 5
22	Morocco	0.81	Down 3
23	Panama	0.78	Up 2
24	India	0.72	Down 3
25	Canada	0.63	Down 19	Biggest faller
26	Romania	0.63	Up 1
27	Montenegro	0.54	Up 15
28	Malaysia	0.45	Up 5
29	Hungary	0.45		New Entry
30	Cape Verde	0.39	Up 16	Highest climber
31	Tunisia	0.36	Up 16	Highest climber
32	Poland	0.33	Down 2
33	Argentina	0.3	Down 5
34	Philippines	0.3	Down 10
35	Slovakia	0.3	Down 6
36	Sri Lanka	0.3	Down 19	Biggest faller
37	New Zealand	0.27	Up 6
38	Mexico	0.27	Down 3
39	Albania	0.27	Down 2
40	Australia	0.21	Down 18

Print Show Full Table

Picture by imageafter

Bookmark This Page

Tag, share or bookmark this page:

Recent Related Stories

Subscribe to Newsletters