Spain still the favourite for Brits buying abroad

Spanish property accounted for 43% of all enquiries, Propertyline's records show. Second was France with 13% and third Italy with 11%.

Buying property in Spain has become popular in recent years, but a slight dip in property prices in 2007 has seen negative press start to appear. Propertyline, however, reports that the UK's love affair with a place on the Costas shows no sign of abating.

This year Spain's beaches received more than five hundred Blue Flags for excellence of facility.

It has long been the case that retiring Britains would buy themselves a property in Spain to spend their retirement, but nowadays potential buyers are of all ages, and many are under 35 years old.

The accessibility (fly to Malaga in 2 hours from most UK airports) and the price of properties in Spain is proving to be a hit to many Britains - who are clearly looking to get more 'bang for their buck' than they would in the UK.

The Costa Blanca, with its beautiful beaches, palm trees and tranquil shores is still proving to be one of the most popular areas for foreign investors, and it's easy to see why.

Fuelled by the swathes of television programmes about buying a dream home abroad, the Spanish property market is still a hot pick for Brits looking to escape from bleak UK climes.

A recent dip in Spanish property prices has sparked off some negative press about the long term feasibility of Spanish property investment, but figures show that interest has certainly not tailed off in any way whatsoever.

"It's difficult to predict what investors will do but what we think is the long-term outlook for the property market is good," said Laura Vergani, head of media relations at Barclays GRCB.

The British press have apparently exaggerated recent events in Spanish property markets, not giving readers the ‘full picture’

Up to a million Britons are believed to be living in Spain permanently.

Robin Haynes, running the Propertyline.co.uk project, commented:

"August is traditionally a quiet time of year for Brits buying overseas, but we are still seeing a healthy level of enquiries, particularly in southern Europe and the USA. The newspapers all like to hype up bad news, but it seems we are not being put off owning a dream home in the sun".

Results were taken from all Propertyline enquiries received from July 27th to August 9th 2007.

Notes for Editors

Propertyline.co.uk is a unique property portal connecting buyers with agents, developers and private sellers across the world. It is part of the Eataz network with 350,000 users per month.

Agents selling to UK buyers can also advertise without charge, subject to certain conditions. Propertyline is a division of Foreign Currency Direct plc, one of the UK's premier currency brokers.

Properties for sale in Spain: http://www.propertyline.co.uk/map-es.php
Propertyline homepage: http://www.propertyline.co.uk