Surge in Brits selling overseas property assets, is it time to buck the trend?

As more Brits start to feel the effects of economic woes at home they’re starting to ditch some of those little luxuries that no longer seem quite so affordable or desirable, topping the list of such luxuries is the second home abroad.  The overseas holiday home or ‘property investment’ is often viewed as an easily expendable asset that will provide some much needed capital through a tricky period without having a dramatically negative affect on quality of life. But what happens when too many people all have the same idea at the same time? Is it time for the smart property investor to do the opposite?

Simon Walker manager of Knight Franks International Off Plan division reports that primary overseas investment and property in the sun hotspots such as Bulgaria are seeing a marked trend change from a British investment market to a British selling market as Brits hope to cash in on their overseas assets. He says “It’s not like a wholesale thing, but there is a definite sea-change. Because there is trouble at home, people are going: ‘What can we get rid of?’

At Shelter Offshore we wonder how so few people failed to see this coming. The same people who all thought they would make seizable short term profits buying in new markets like Bulgaria are now all deciding to jump ship at the same time. Why does anyone wonder why we have boom bust economics in the housing markets? What else could possibly happen if a significant percentage of investors all invest at the same time and then decide to cash in at the same time? Inevitably if you’re buying when it’s fashionable you’ll pay extra to be fashionable and if you decide to cash in when there’s a risk of a wholesale sell out you’ll end up selling for far less than you ever wanted to.

Of course for the shrewd investor this somewhat lemming like approach to property investment creates a very fertile investment market, just as many property investors will now make hay from a growing repossession market in UK others will capitalise very successfully on the sudden panic selling that is starting to happen in Europe’s emerging property markets. With a cool head, and some research into the market there’s no doubting that there will almost certainly be some very interesting property investment opportunities coming up over the next 12 months.

As Simon Walker said about Bulgarian property market  “it’s still a valued destination”,  we tend to agree, it’s probably a very good time for international investors to keep an eye on what’s happening, look for panic sellers and spot your opportunity.