Serious buyers look for their place in the sun

The Irish invasion of southern Spain continues. Apartments and villas along the Spanish coast are still being snapped up by Irish investors, holiday-makers and retirees looking to escape long cold winters, crippling property taxes and lack of investment opportunities at home.

Although foreign property agents are reporting that demand from Irish purchasers has levelled off, with more discerning buyers emerging from the haze of frenzied buying that took place last year, punters are still arriving at shows with a have-deposit-will-buy attitude.

Although Florida and France are emerging as contenders in the foreign holiday home market, 52 per cent of visitors to last weekend's Homes Overseas Exhibition in Dublin specified an interest in buying in Spain.

Guaranteed sunshine, a well-developed tourism rental market, ease of access and mass availability of affordable property has established Spain as an attractive location. Mary Dunne, of Cielo Group, reported strong interest from buyers over the weekend which resulted in a number of sales. Based in Marbella for the last 12 years, Cielo Group now has four offices in the region and Dunne estimates that around 35 per cent of her clients are Irish.

"The English are still the number one buyers of property around this region, and the Scandinavians and Dutch also account for a high percentage, but the last few years have seen an increase in the number of Irish purchasers.

"The average Irish buyer is looking to spend somewhere in the region of £80,000 (€101,579) to £150,000 (€190,460)," she said.

According to Bernadette McGrory-Farrell, president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA), the Irish scramble to buy property abroad has been a direct consequence of Government taxation policies over the last few years. These have included residential property tax, seaside resort initiatives and Bacon III measures.

In a speech questioning the Government's long-term strategy for housing to the CPA spring luncheon last week, she said: "In one development in Spain, 57 out of the 64 houses being built were bought by Irish people. In that one development alone, close to £5 million (€6.34m) has been spent by Irish investors."

However, there was a decrease in both the number of exhibitors at Homes Overseas and in the attendance figures. While many of the agents feel that the mad scramble is over, they point out that people attending these shows tend to be serious about purchasing and say that the average age of buyers is falling. "Ireland is a small country, so the market here is limited," said Mary Dunne.

While over half of the stands at the event were showcasing Spanish properties, Birmingham-based Italian estate agents, Domus-Casa, were under siege from enthusiastic buyers. Tuscany farmhouses, beach apartments and lakeside villas were in high demand. Very different from the Spanish market, Italian properties are usually more expensive and appeal to a different category of purchaser.

Despite the strong dollar, more and more Irish families are succumbing to the brash charms of the sunshine state of Florida. Disney World, year round sunshine and good value homes for $150,000 are the big advantages, according to Susan Trapp of Contmepo Ireland.

"We mainly sell development properties in the Orlando area. Southern Dunes and Wyndham Palms are very popular with Irish buyers and offer good return to investors. To get the best value, properties must be located in short-term rental areas," she said.

France appeals to those looking for a second home and a certain lifestyle. According to Trisha Mason of British-based French property specialists VEF, rural properties in the countryside are in high demand.

"Whenever one of our properties appears in the Take 5 column in The Irish Times, we usually get around 150 inquiring phone calls in a matter of hours. There are still bargains to be had in France where you can buy a property for as little as £40,000 (€50,789) and you can still get a beautiful historic chateau for £250,000 (€317,434). Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and the Canaries are also in demand.