Property news
RAIN DRAIN FOR BRITS
The awful summer is contributing to people leaving the UK, and the number of Britons buying property abroad doubled in the last 12 months. A new study by Barclays Buying Abroad cites the wettest British summer ever as the main cause for emigration, replacing more traditional reasons such as rising crime, ballooning property prices and a skewed work-life balance.
BUYERS TURN BACKS ON BLACK SEA
Property in Bulgaria is booming, but demand is shifting inland, away from coastal resorts and toward urban and rural areas. For now, though, Sofia remains relatively inexpensive – property here costs an average of €220 per square metre, compared to €503 nationally. House prices have risen by 27% since last year according to Quest Bulgaria, an English language property magazine.
HIGH-END BUYERS NOT PANICKING
The growing market for exclusive properties in London is leading to some outrageous prices. A planned luxury housing project overlooking Hyde Park includes penthouse flats to be offered at?€122m. These flats – the most expensive British flats ever constructed – feature bullet-proof glass, specially purified air and “panic rooms” to protect against intruders.
THIRD TIERS CRYING OUT
Investors looking for the next big thing in Eastern Europe should consider third-tier Polish cities as their next port of call, it has been suggested by propertysecrets.com. The firm says that cities such as Katowice are seeing growth rates akin to those in Warsaw over the past few years, but without the level of interest seen in the capital.
PAUL OSWELL
W ci
