Spanish homes top demand in 2012

Bargain Spanish property was in most demand during 2012 from millions of online property hunters.

Spain attracted 18.3% of inquiries to website TheMoveChannel.com and other overseas property portals in the Lead Galaxy network from January-December 2012, new figures show.
Next popular was the US with 15.4%, followed by France, the UK and Portugal. Listings in Spain and Brazil were most popular, a news infographic from TheMoveChannel demonstrates.
Most enquiries – around four out of ten - came from British buyers with the US in second place. Australia, Spain, Ireland and Canada buyers also featured.

"While it is interesting to see buyers' preference for houses and properties with two bedrooms, the infographic is also a reminder that no matter what the economic condition is in any country, two things remain more important to buyers than anything else: location and price,” says TheMoveChannel editor, Ivan Radford.

More than half of buyers were looking for houses and around 40% wanted apartments, but two-bed properties were most popular than three and four-bed homes. Land accounted for 6% on inquiries and commercial 5%.

Low-priced properties, under £50,000 attracted more than one-third of inquiries and six out of ten buyers looked for properties under £100,000.

Luxury properties, over £500,000, were in demand from just one out of ten buyers.
The most popular listing was for apartments in Murcia's La Manga resort and most house hunters (58%) were male.

Ivan Radford explains, “Combining our figures with the other portals in Lead Galaxy's network, which received a total of seven million visitors last year, gives us as broad a picture as possible - and during a time of recession, the picture is good for low-priced Spanish and US property, as investors tighten their belts.

“In fact, if you take the main results from each statistic, the conclusion is simple: men from the UK want houses in Spain for under £50,000!"

Demand was strongest for Spanish and Brazilian listings, says Mr Radford. "The USA, for example, is the second most popular destination, but with so many properties on the market, demand is spread across a large number of listings. In Brazil, the sixth most popular overall, there are fewer listings so the demand is clearer to see.

"Despite South America's appeal, though, it's quite startling how centralised the activity is on the map: even with the Eurozone crisis continuing, traditional European destinations make up the majority of the top 30 countries.”

http://www.opp-connect.com/index.php?option=com_postwebsites&view=postnews&id=746