UK - investor confidence returns for overseas property

There's a touch of Mandy Rice-Davies' "well he would say that wouldn't he" about this but it's worth repeating.

Nick Clark, managing director of the Property Investor Show has commissioned some research which shows that investors think that confidence has risen by 43% over the past three months.  He says:

"There has been a strong shift in the market, with savvy UK investors beginning to explore overseas opportunities as they search for sound investments with better returns than the other poor performing investment vehicles such as bank savings and the stock market".

Strangely he failed to mention either John Profumo or Christine Keeler.

www.cognacproperty.com

France "most popular destination" for expats

The Halifax have just issued some research claiming that 16% of British expats currently live in France which tops the charts ahead of Spain (10%).

This comes hot on the heels of research by BNP Paribas that says Britons will make up 20% of all overseas buyers in France during 2009.

It's no surprise that France remains popular with Brits - either as a place for a second home or indeed to move here permanently. There's a good reason why it's the most visited country in the world with 82 million foreign tourists making an annual pilgrimage.

In troubled economic times you need this kind of heritage and stability if you're thinking of investing in real estate - prices may well tempt you to open a gite business in Bulgaria but are you sure it's going to be popular with the punters!

Ultimately though we Brits love it over here because of one thing, perfectly described by Jean Anouilh:

"Everything ends this way in France - everything. Weddings, christenings, duels, burials, swindlings, diplomatic affairs -everything is a pretext for a good dinner".

www.cognacproperty.com