The commercial European property market is expected to offer more returns to investors than the UK sector over the next five years, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) reports. Overall the organisation expects the commercial property market in the UK to produce returns of seven per cent over the next five years, compared to a prediction of over eight per cent for the same market in western...

Interest in German property is steadily on the rise, with British investors at the top of the list of those investing in the country, according to new research. A study by German property specialists DEGI has shown that there were 152 commercial property transactions in the first half of 2006, amounting to a total value of €21.34 billion (£14.75 billion). Overseas investors made up 55.2 per cent of...

A new survey has revealed the reason behind the popularity of French property among overseas property investors in the UK. The poll, conducted by French property specialists Creme de Languedoc, found that one of the main, and most obvious, attractions was the country's climate. This was joined in the top three reasons by the potential to spend more time outdoors and a nice range of quality yet inexpensive...

The Bank of Ireland (BOI) has today reported that Ireland was found to be the second wealthiest country in a survey of the eight leading OECD nations and that property investment is the main factor in its success. Ireland was placed behind Japan in the list and it was noted that the average wealth per head of Irish citizens was almost €150,000 (£103,600). The report claimed that concerns over rising...

The government has released its UK House Price Index for May 2006, showing that inflation in the UK property market rose to 5.6 per cent from 5.1 per cent in April. Wales was the only country in the UK to see a fall in inflation in May, to 5.1 per cent from the level of 6.6 per cent the previous month. England saw a rise from 4.7 per cent in April to 5.2 per cent in May, the level in Scotland...

Both buyers and sellers in the New Zealand property market are confident in the sector's current growth, according to a new report making it an ideal time to buy property abroad.The latest statistics released by property information company Quotable Value (QV) show that the average price of a house in New Zealand is $329,829 (£109,574) for the second quarter of 2006. This indicates a price growth...

The value of apartment properties in Manhattan is currently increasing, boosted by foreign investment, according to reports. A strong local economy and Wall Street bonuses have also played an important part in supporting this sector of US property, according to Reuters, despite the fact that sales have fallen by 14.8 per cent. According to the Prudential Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview, Manhattan...

New research has shown that the level of buy-to-let investment activity in UK property is on the increase, as 14 per cent of mortgages handled by advisers are currently accounted for by these customers. Paragon Mortgages' research shows that this number has risen from the six per cent that was measured in June 2001 and the ten per cent of December 2004. This steadily increasing buy-to-let activity appears...

A new survey has found that the lifestyle offered by investing in a property abroad is more of an incentive for most individuals than the profit that can be gained. According to research conducted by YouGov, 62 per cent of people see the chance to live in warm, sunny weather as the main benefit of living abroad, Overseas Property Professional magazine reports. Half of the people surveyed saw moving...

The Canadian property market is currently in high demand, particularly in the west of the country, according to a major real estate company. Royal LePage has reported that the robust activity is expected to continue for the rest of the year and well in to 2007. Both sales and prices have increased this year, with the average worth of a home in Canada 14.2 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2006...