Overseas Investment Property is becoming increasingly popular with people in the UK for a multitude of reasons. Some simply want sun, sea, and sand and of course to make good money in the process.
We all know it is the investors that get into an emerging market early that make the real money. Now the burning questions is,
What and where are going to be the new emerging hotspots for overseas investment property in 2008?
Lots of companies, property developers and agents all shout that there properties are the best, the locations are the best and the properties being sold off plan are under market value.
That’s all good and well but of course you can not take things on face value and its important, as the savvy investors will tell you , to examine the facts and to do your own due diligence and home work.
Here are a couple of new emerging markets we feel are rising start with a few facts to back them up and to point you in the right direction.
Brazil: land of the carnival and now as we have found out miles and miles of quintessential tropical white sandy beaches.
We have not got room here to go over all the facts so will only highlight some of the financial ones, the important ones, right?
Cost of living: For those people looking to enjoy the properties themselves the Brazil is a big attraction when it comes to living expenses which is 20% that of the UK plus with low property prices, you can purchase a beach front villa for under 50K its easy to see the attraction.
Capital Growth: As mentioned overseas property investors are of course looking top make money from the properties they are buying and capital growth, high increases in the value of the properties is another big attraction.
As the Brazilian economy keeps getting stronger with no sign of slowing down and with the inward investment in both tourist and infrastructure (the massive airport being built 15 minutes from Natal), then it stands to reason that the right properties in the right locations will increase in value, some properties in the North east have increased in value by 100% in the last 36 month.
Rental potential: OK so a lot of investors will not be using the properties themselves and will of course be looking for good rental returns for extra income or to pay for loans taken out on the properties. Natal and the north east regions of Brazil are experiencing an ever increasing international tourist demand from both North America and Europe so therefore the right type of property on a nice Tourist resorts (right location with good infrastructure and facilities should offer excellent rental potential.
To learn more about Brazil we recommend you take a look at Brazil Real Estate.co.uk it’s a nice little site that show cases investment properties on new tourist developments in the North East of Brazil, they also offer a free country and property buyers guide to download.
Cape Verde: dubbed the Caribbean on Europe’s doorstep; the nearest tropical Islands to Europe: Around 4 hours closer than the Caribbean islands with direct flights of only 5.5 hrs from the UK with no Jet-lag, interesting, lets investigate further.
So why are second home & holiday home buyers as well as international property investors heading to these islands, again we can think of lots of reasons but let’s keep this article focused on the financial attractions.
High Retail potential: High Rental Value: Fantastic climate and sunshine for most of the 365 days of the year as well as booming tourism industry equals a strong possibility of year round rental income.
However as we know a destination needs either a good domestic rental marker or a very good and growing tourism market, and of course lack of quality accommodation, meaning that new build quality tourism properties should rent well
Here are some facts and statistics about Cape Verdes Tourism industry
Huge growth tourist industry: The National Statistics Institute (INE) says that around 250,000 tourists arrived in 2006 – a 25% increase over 2005. Seventy percent of tourists visited Sal and 15% Santiago. INE estimates that tourist arrivals will increase by 22% during 2007 and forecasts around 1m tourists annually by 2015. It also predicts that the number of cruise ships visiting the islands will increase from 30 in 2006 to as many as 70 this year, further putting the destination on the tourist trail.
Huge government investment: The Cape Verde government identified the growth tourism as a strategy for sustainable economic growth.
The Government implementing a number of programmes through The NDP (National Development Plan 2001 – 2005) to develop and improve the infrastructure of the Islands.
The NDP covers areas such as transportation (air, maritime, inter-island and road transportation), communications, banking, and health provisions. A major new airport, new roads, water desalination plants, and improved electricity have already been implemented.
Tourism development: The infrastructure development and increased awareness mean that the islands are becoming increasing popular with holiday makers looking for a tropical holiday destination with our the very long flight times to say the Caribbean and Thailand.
In summary it is still early days but as soon as Cape Verde becomes a mainstream holiday destination the price of property should almost certainly increase drastically.
Other factors that are an attraction of Cape Verde for overseas property investors are;
Low property prices: Cape Verde remains much cheaper than many Mediterranean places, and offers the opportunity to get in ‘on the ground’ of a soon to be booming tourist destination.
High Capital Growth: all the above activity has led experts to predict a 30% increase per year in property values on the main tourist locations and resorts in Cape Verde.
Again here is another little site that is showcasing current investment opportunities Cape Verde Real Estate
To summaries both Brazil and Cape Verde are set to be two of the hottest emerging overseas investment property markets for 2008, the facts speak for themselves and we hope this short article gives you food for thought.