More buyers from euro-crisis countries target luxury homes

There has been an increase in the number of enquiries from potential buyers of luxury property, particularly from Eurozone countries hit by the economic crisis, research shows.

According to data from international property portal Luxuryestate.com, buyers in Greece, Spain and Italy have shown increased interest in the last year, as well as Russia.

Buyers in the UK showed the biggest interest, making up 17% of all enquiries, though this was only 1% more than a year ago.

Enquiries from Greece increased by 8%, putting the country in ninth place according to the number of luxury property searches, while those from Russia, Italy and Spain were up by 6%, 5% and 4% respectively.

President of the firm, Silvio Pagliani, noted that there was increased demand from countries with a large number of high net worth individuals, namely Luxemburg and Switzerland.

He concluded that this, combined with the increase in enquiries from economically hit countries, meant that “Many wealthy citizens are looking to invest in luxury property and seeking a safe haven for their assets.”

Middle Eastern regions seemed at first absent from the list, but further examination showed that wealthy Middle East buyers were using specialised brokers to purchase property. Many of these are based in London, adding to the high demand from the UK.

The countries with the most number of luxury properties for sale have also altered. Countries with more stable economies have seen the number of sales on the market remain stagnant or decrease, while those in an economic crisis have seen an increase.

The US has the highest amount at 15% - the same figure as the past 12 months. Italy is second with 14% (up 8%), the UK is third with 13% (down 5%), and France is fourth with 12% (up 4%).
Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Monaco and the UAE all followed in respective places.

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