Spain has overtaken France and the USA as the UK nation’s favourite place to buy an overseas property, according to The Overseas Guides Company (OGC).

OGC report that 22% of all enquiries that it received between April and June this year were for property in Spain, which represents a staggering 37.5% increase on the first quarter of 2012 when the country’s share of enquiries was just 16%. Property in France pulled in the second highest share with 21%, followed by property in USA with 14%, each dropping just 1% compared to the first quarter. OGC provides free Buying Guides and resources for all key destinations popular with British property-buyers. 

Encouragingly, the total number of enquiries received by OGC for its country specific Buying Guides grew by 3.7% quarter-on-quarter, namely from 6,468 in Q1 2012 to 6,707 in Q2 2012. Positively, year-on-year growth for the last quarter was up 50 per cent, from 4,459 in Q2 2011.

OGC – Leads into OGC per Country – 2012 – % Share per Country
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Q1	Apr	May	Jun	Q2
America	13%	18%	17%	15%	15%	14%	12%	14%
Australia	11%	9%	6%	9%	6%	5%	4%	5%
Canada	10%	6%	5%	7%	5%	4%	4%	4%
Cyprus	3%	4%	4%	4%	4%	4%	5%	4%
France	23%	20%	21%	22%	22%	20%	21%	21%
Greece	2%	3%	3%	2%	4%	4%	5%	4%
Italy	5%	5%	6%	5%	7%	7%	7%	7%
New Zealand	2%	3%	3%	3%	3%	4%	4%	3%
Others	8%	6%	5%	6%	3%	2%	3%	3%
Portugal	5%	6%	7%	6%	6%	7%	7%	7%
Spain	14%	19%	18%	16%	21%	23%	23%	22%
Turkey	3%	3%	5%	4%	4%	6%	4%	5%
	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Total Leads	2,731	2,041	1,696	6,468	2,113	2,325	2,269	6,707

Richard Way, editor of The Overseas Guides Company, commented: “Spain has always been a favourite with British buyers but clearly there has been a surge in interest in the last few months. Our recommended agent on the Costa Blanca, HomeEspana, reports a 20 per cent rise in British clients in the last three months. Interest for higher-valued properties in towns like Moraira, as well as more traditional destinations like Torrevieja and Cabo Roig, has returned. Part of the reason could be that the coastal regions most sought after by foreign buyers are ahead of the curve in terms of falling prices, while much uncertainty still remains in inland developments. The stronger pound will be luring buyers back to the market too. For British people, a €100,000 property is around £5,200 cheaper today than it was in January, purely due to the exchange rate shifting to around £1/€1.27 from £1/€1.19.”