The popularity of property in Thailand among overseas buyers dropped slightly last month, although the kingdom is still responsible for more than 2.3 percent of all searches on a leading overseas property portal.
Thailand was ranked in 8th place in the monthly Top of the Props report from TheMoveChannel.com in July, down three places from its lofty 5th place in June.
Interest in property in Croatia (pictured) surged for the second successive month. In June, Croatia’s share of enquiries grew from 1.07 per cent to 1.09 per cent as buyers started to return to Europe. That small increase was enough for Croatia to jump seven places in the Top of the Props chart to number 14. Demand continued to climb in July as the country overtook Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria to become the website’s tenth most sought-after property market. The last time it was so popular was in July 2012.
Interest in Portugal also increased significantly, almost tripling month-on-month as the country entered the top three countries for the first time since January 2013.
France fell to fourth place but confidence in the continent appears to be improving: Spain remains the most sought-after country on the portal, followed by the USA. America’s share of enquiries fell from 20.95 per cent in June to 14.63 per cent, on a par with July 2012. Spanish property, on the other hand, has seen its share soar by over 10 per cent year-on-year to make up almost one in three of all enquiries on the site. Indeed, the Eurozone now accounts for three of the top five destinations on TheMoveChannel.com.
Investors are still looking outside of Europe, though, for stable alternatives. Buyer appetite for Brazil bounced back as the booming South American market landed in fifth place. Canada also enjoyed a strong surge up the charts to ninth, entering the top 10 for the first time, just below Thailand.
Malta leapt an equally large 12 places to sit outside the top flight but the island, featured in the TV series Game of Thrones, lost out to Croatia, also used as a filming location. As the EU’s newest member becomes a household sight around the world, Croatia’s climb into the major league could well spell big things for the tiny property market.
Malaysia, in 39th place, is the only other Southeast Asian nation to appear in the top 40 most-searched destinations.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote
this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@allproperty.com.sg
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