英国人の海外不動産購入動向

Overview

Introduction

In recent years an increasing number of Britons have purchased properties abroad. Primary motivations of this trend have been high property prices in the UK , cheaper cost of living and improved accessibility. But, is the overseas mortgage market developed enough? What are the current strategies adopted by players in this market? What else can be done? This report provides the answer.

Scope

• Covers the increasing trend of Britons buying abroad.
• Puts special emphasis on France and Spain.
• Analyses the current strategies in place among lenders and brokers.
• Provides recommendations to potential entrants and existing players.

Report Highlights

The downside of high and growing demand means property markets are currently being overvalued. According to a secondary source, demand has contributed to a 21 per cent increase in average house prices in the Spanish Costas in 2003. Similarly, a 28 per cent price rise in the Languedoc Roussillon area in France was witnessed in 2003.

While owning a property abroad used to be the privilege of the wealthy, this is no longer the case. More and more average income earners have joined the market. For instance, an interviewee stated that a proportion of his customers earn an average annual salary of £25,000.

Primary and secondary research conducted for the purpose of this report revealed that lenders do not actively promote their overseas mortgage portfolio. Promotion and advertising seem to be limited to the occasional advertisement in a specialized magazine and being present at exhibitions for overseas properties.

Reasons to Purchase

• Allows you to effectively plan your strategies by providing a thorough analysis of the buying abroad property market.
• Learn about the strategies of the main players in the overseas mortgage market.
• Determines whether the overseas mortgage market offers interesting opportunities to potential entrants.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

• Scope and definitions
• Who is the target reader?
• How to use this report

CHAPTER 2 BUYING ABROAD: THE PHENOMENON IN CONTEXT

• Property abroad: a rising trend
  • Industry estimates
  • And research indicates that the buying abroad market is growing significantly
  • The fact that the number of second homes in the UK is falling, further stressed that more and more Britons are looking abroad
  • Hot spots for Britons for buying abroad
  • A high demand in Spain and France has led to increasing house inflation
  • Other popular choices include Florida, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus
  • Customers are buying abroad for different reasons
  • Retirement and holiday purposes are the main reasons for buying an overseas property
  • The French Leaseback scheme: an incentive for buy-to-let
  • The typical customer profile is changing
  • Homeowners of a property abroad are getting younger
• Drivers behind the rise in demand for property abroad
  • Rising house prices in the UK and lower house prices abroad are impacting on demand
  • Holiday spots in the UK have recorded huge increases in prices
  • And the same trend can be observed in residential areas
  • High levels of equity means that buying property abroad is increasingly possible for existing homeowners
  • Other factors fueling demand in overseas properties
  • Increased accessibility through cheaper air flights and new routes is opening the door to new opportunities
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view
  • Increasing awareness through wide media coverage
• Financing alternatives for buying abroad
  • Buying outright
  • Taking a mortgage for buying abroad
  • Borrowing with a local lender in the overseas market: pros and cons
  • Borrowing with a UK International mortgage lender: pros and cons
  • An important decision for the prospective buyer is whether to borrow in British pounds or in foreign currencies
  • Euro mortgages tend to be cheaper
  • Currency fluctuations are an important issue
  • Borrowing in British pounds involves extra costs in terms of currency conversion
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view
• Conclusions

CHAPTER 3 STRATEGIC FOCUS

• Players in the overseas mortgage market
  • Only a few UK lenders operate in the overseas mortgage market
  • Offering overseas mortgages through an international subsidiary is the common route for UK lenders
  • Overseas mortgages are not a primary product for lenders
  • UK lenders' coverage of overseas markets is very limited
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view
  • Lenders in the overseas mortgage market are not aggressive
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view
  • So, what stops UK lenders from entering the overseas mortgage market?
  • Given that UK lenders are under-represented, it is no wonder that brokers are the major players in the overseas mortgage market
  • Lenders who are not operating in the overseas mortgage market act as referral partners to brokers
  • And referral agreements are common within the broker community too
  • CFS are the leading overseas mortgage broker in the UK
  • Assisting the client from start to the end is the key to success
  • Assisting the lender with their expertise is also part of the value proposition offered by CFS
  • Going forward...
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view
• Products offering
  • The overseas mortgage market is far from being sophisticated
  • How do UK International lenders compare with local overseas lenders?
  • Datamonitor Retail Banking view

CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Conclusions
  • As new hot spots are emerging, lenders have the opportunity to introduce new products
  • These new spots open the door to further opportunities
  • Barclays boosts presence in France
  • What business model is likely to work for UK local lenders?
• Recommendations

CHAPTER 5 APPENDIX

• Supplementary data
  • Chapter 2: Buying abroad: the phenomenon in context
• Definitions
• Research methodology
• Future readings
  • Current reports
  • Future Datamonitor publications
• Relevant links
• Datamonitor's custom research capabilities
• SPP writing team

List of Tables

• Table 1: Top ten largest increases recorded in UK seaside towns, 2001-2003
• Table 2: UK international lenders offering overseas mortgages, July 2004
• Table 3: A comparison of a sample of overseas mortgages available for Spanish properties, August 2004
• Table 4: Number of UK households with a second home in England, 1995-2000
• Table 5: Number of UK citizens receiving their state pension abroad, 1999-2003

List of Figures

• Figure 1: Britons were increasingly buying second homes in UK. However, this trend now seems to have reversed, 1995-2000
• Figure 2: An estimated 37 per cent of second homes owned by Britons outside the UK are in Spain, 2003
• Figure 3: 36 per cent of the tourist housing stock in Spain are owned by Britons, 2003
• Figure 4: Britons have replaced the Germans as the main nationality for owners of second homes in Spain, 1998 and 2004
• Figure 5: The number of Britons retiring abroad is increasing, 1999-2003
• Figure 6: 75 per cent of foreign citizens buying a property in Spain do so for retirement purposes , 2003
• Figure 7: Datamonitor's core consulting capabilities