Well, France is for sure a nice destination, however, talking pricewise, its one of the most expensive countries, and its biggest challenge is to compete with Spain which is its next door neighbour.

An article from the Times....

Sun is setting on economic boom in Spain - Times Online

c30% of new investors into Morocco are Spannish, with a similar percentage from France. Apparantly they want to get away from all the eeer we errr we go Brits, and Morocco is seen as the classiest destination in the Med.

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Been investing abroad a few years. Always amazed people invest in places that produce just a few months rent per year

Well, the market still looks quite cloudy in Spain...

Spanish property: why it's crunch time on the Costa del Sol - Times Online

Spain has always been popular due to being open to the British market early. It offered cheap food, cheap booze, cheap fags, tons of sunshine, and only a 3 hours away to boot.

Then you could get your papers, full English breakfast, visit a pub run by a Brit, and get by speaking English. And you can play golf.

It had a lot of attractions. It still does. However, we are all aware of properties bought by British citizens being bulldozed due to illegal building.

At the same time, Knight Frank published their Q4 property hotspots which were published in May's edition of 'A Place in the Sun Live' magazine (page 18) which showed Bulgaria again in 1st position with increases of 33% for the year.

Bulgaria has the longest history in Europe, has heritage sites galore, invented the computer, the contraceptive pill, has gorgeous mountains and beaches, white water rafting, and so on and so forth.

It has a lot of attractions. It still does. However, in certain areas it is seasonal, and because of this will attract a shorter rental period than one may be led to believe.

Australia, Brazil, India and the Caribbean offer attractive deal's sometimes, but for others is simply an investment too far away from home.

Every country can shout from the rooftops about the benefits of investing there. Don't be mislead. Look into your investment. Ask yourself this question everytime before you even start to look.

"What is it that I want to achieve"

When you have this answer, THEN start looking.

We are now in 'credit crunch' and the crunch will be more of a problem to developments in the ' emerging markets' inc Bulgaria than in the established markets of the modern economic states of EU [ Spain inc] and also UK!!!
As a result of the ' CC' buyers in locations such as Bulgaria are ' I suspect' about to have a lot of problems.....sorry to say this and for dealers...well they can look after themselves.......but the 'private life style buyer in these markets are in for a ' very ' rough ride
Hope I am wrong!!!

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Brian Rowlands BSc FRICS
Chartered Surveyor & Overseas Property Agent:- view my profile on www.myspace.com/brianrowlands
e-mail rowlandsbb@aol.com

Rowland, Spain will be badly affcted by the cc as it's prices were over inflated by hitherto cheap and easy money. The same is not so for some of the newer markets that haven't yet been over inflated.

We all like Spain, I'm off thier for my summer holls this year, but investing hasn't made fiscal sense given the mismatch between the over inflated prices, and low rental yields, not to mention the competition with so many properties all seeking holiday rentals.

Once the prices drop by 30 - 40% Spain should present some interesting investments but again only if the rent yields stack up, to provide a positve healthy cashflow net of all expenses, I DO MEAN ALL EXPENSES.

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Been investing abroad a few years. Always amazed people invest in places that produce just a few months rent per year

Certainly would but no use chasing ' an impossible dream'......in general property prices are not expected to drop 30/40% nor will they in UK as some would have us think!!!
the general expectation is that Eu market including UK and Spain will be flat for a couple of years and start to move ahead in 2010
During that time there will be some very good deals , if you can find a distressed sale, but not a lot about
For life style buyers for holiday or retirement home there are a lot of good quality units and in say 10 years time they will, I'm confident, look back and see that besides all the enjoyment they have made a good buy
A 1 bed apartment from £76,800 [ inc cost £84,480] 2 bed maisonette in Costa Blanca from circa £83,200 [ inc cost say £91,1520] are very competitive in price [ @ 1.25 to £] compared to similar in UK and there are still very good mortgage terms about , which makes the purchase very cost effective for life style buyers
Now you have to pick the right location, but that is always important
If you are buying as an investment, to let for holiday/ recreation/ sports then it is hard work but done properly in the right location it can be OK
But many life style buyers either do not let or if they do then just enough to cover expenses via friends and contacts on a low key basis....this has worked for many people

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Brian Rowlands BSc FRICS
Chartered Surveyor & Overseas Property Agent:- view my profile on www.myspace.com/brianrowlands
e-mail rowlandsbb@aol.com

[quote=New Home in Turkey;36272]Everybody having something to do with overseas property investment, know that Spain has been for quite a long time the unbeatable champion in this business.
Not that I am an expert but I think that this was mostly due to the very fact that Spain was the very first country to open its door to overseas property purchasers, was a member of the EU, and of course attracted the UK market, which I think is the strongest market in this business. Of course, no need to say that Spain, by its beauty,history etc, was, and still is a magnificent country.
However, things seems to change slowly these days. Prices in Spain are way over the top, almost everyday a new article on a bribery scandal makes the news, over development makes the entire business crackle.
To sum up, "new" competitors such as Turkey, Egypt, Morocco etc are now under the spots, and try to expand their influence in the business.
The question is: Does one of these emergent markets take the throne or will Spain always stay as the primary market for overseas holyday home purchasers?[/QUOTE

Check this link out for a parallel:
Turkey Property | International Property, International Real Estate

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Didim Sun Properties
www.didimsun.com

Maybe I am biased as I have always loved SPain, and i have been around a bit for my tender age!

The key to Spain is the travelling. Even though all things told it takes a day to get here, with the travelling to and from airports and the wait there, the general public think it is only a couple of hours away by plane. Added to this the cheap cost of flights and the "safe" perception of Spain and there is no need to mention the weather etc etc. Its no longer cheap to live here, but it is great.

This is a rather harsh opinion but I have little sympathy for the majority of people that have had their houses bulldozed. Most will have tried to skip the lawyer. This would NEVER happen if they were buying a property in the UK yet they come to a foreign country with a language they dont understand and ommit the lawyer to save a few grand. Quite incredible.

If they have been duped then i do pity them, but that happens in the UK too and everywhere else.

LRAU is a different matter, sheer lunacy from the SPanish government