Property prices in Bulgaria have risen by almost five per cent in the first quarter this year, according to the Real Estate and Investment Forum (RINVOR). The Eastern European country is fast becoming a property hotspot, with many overseas investors seeing potential for high returns on rental property. Sights like the Black Sea and Balkan mountain range are tempting tourists to take advantage of the many...

As the 2006 hurricane season begins for the east coast of the United States, Florida property owners have learnt that they will have to pay one per cent of value of their home insurance to cover an insurance deficit of $1.5 billion. The assessment will replenish the local Hurricane Insurance Catastrophe Fund, which will be out of pocket when tax-free bonds are sold to cover the cost of repairs from the...

Property investors looking to purchase homes for letting purposes paid nearly two per cent more in April than in March, according to Paragon Mortgages' latest Buy-to-Let Index. The specialist lender found that landlords continue to retain their confidence in the property market, expanding their portfolios and contributing to a price inflation growth rate of 4.7 per cent over the past six months. April...

Consumers hoping to find UK property to rent out could benefit from new guidelines that will be given to property valuers. Members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have decided clarification of the current 'Red Book' guidelines is needed if a new build property's true value is not to be distorted. RICS valuers need to provide an objective estimate of...

Nationwide has described recent house price growth in the UK as "sluggish", reporting an average price increase of just 0.2 per cent in May. This compares with a similarly slight 0.1 per cent price rise in April but a much healthier 1.1 per cent in March. It leaves the annual rate of growth at 4.7 per cent for the year to May compared to 5.3 per cent at the end of March. Although house prices are still...

The property market in Thailand has been tipped to grow by half as much as previously predicted. The combination of rising oil prices and interest rates led Manon Pongsathat, president of the International Property Association, to suggest a five per cent increase in the overall property market this year, down from the ten per cent figure estimated earlier. The number of new houses in Thailand will increase...

Investors looking to buy property abroad could find useful information about the Moroccan property market at the first Essential Morocco Property Exposition to be held at London's Heathrow Airport. The show will include details of the new Plan Azur developments on the country's Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, well-suited as the site of a possible second holiday home as well as for overseas property...

Polish capital Warsaw has topped a list of the best places to invest in property abroad. Prestige Group's International Hotspots Index is designed to provide a detailed guide to the top-ten overseas property hotspots, helping potential buyers to consider the different conditions in each country. The index takes into account stamp duty levels, the legal system and financing possibilities, as well as...

A leading Spanish property developer is offering the opportunity to Buy Spanish homes fully furnished and equipped to save buyers time and spare them unnecessary stress. TM Grupo believes it has hit upon an area where the service offered to overseas property buyers could easily be improved, removing the need to communicate with Spanish salespeople about the price of sofas and other soft furnishings. Often...

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) is introducing a new factsheet designed to provide guidance for people thinking of buying property abroad. Targeting those who will be selling mortgages to individuals tempted by the booming overseas property markets, the document will help mortgage intermediaries to advise their clients more effectively on property regulations in different countries....