The dominance of Spain in the overseas property market has been confirmed by the property consultancy King Sturge. Drawing on residents from Britain and Germany, a survey shows Spain as coming top of the possible destinations for retiring overseas, followed by France and Italy, also appearing high up on the lists of both countries. The King Sturge Living Under the Sun survey found that over a fifth (22 per...

Overseas property made a welcome return at the 22nd Worldwide Property Show in Dubai last week. George Betz, organiser DSL Exhibitions' international sales manager, said that many overseas firms "had stayed away" in recent years, but added this trend now appeared "to have cooled down". He said that a number of the exhibiting overseas developers and estate agents had succeeded in attracting record deposit...

UK pensioners' preference for living in certain areas has led to the creation of a new raft of property hotspots, according to a new report. Research carried up by the Alliance Trust Research Centre group of investment companies shows that almost a fifth (20 per cent) of the population is now retired. However, this proportion is significantly lower in large cities, with just 11 per cent of people retired...

The Chinese deputy director general of the Department of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation has paid a visit to the Sabban Towers property development next to the Porto Arabia marina in Qatar. Underlining China's support for Qatar's burgeoning property sector, Da Jiaxiang saw that the construction of the luxury residential apartments and penthouses was on schedule, with 60 per cent of the piling work...

Property developers in Auckland, New Zealand, have expressed fears that house prices will increase if the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) succeeds in persuading the government to allow it to charge a fee for transport and other services. The new levy would be on top of the local council charges that are currently paid by those planning new housing development in Auckland. The property council chair, Connal...

Anyone looking for something a little bit different in the world of overseas property may wish to consider the island of La Gomera, just south of the well-known holiday destination of Tenerife. In addition to the late sun that persuades people to but property abroad in the south of France or Spain, La Gomera also has the prestige of being first discovered by the great explorer Christopher Columbus. Now...

The 2006 Worldwide Property Show has got underway in Dubai at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Visitors to the show will be able to look at a wide range of overseas property, whether looking for a holiday home or an investment opportunity. A number of expatriates living in Dubai have already invested in the area, but they too may be looking to expand their portfolios in what is becoming a true property hotspot. The...

Property developer Intrawest has won the Best French Apartment award at the annual Homes Overseas Awards for its Arc 1950 village development. The developer's first property development in France, the ski-focused village also walked away with the title of Best Ski Development. Arc 1950 Le Village was first launched in 2003, with eight phases sold to date, including the most recent Chalet des Lys. The...

Investors tempted to buy property overseas may be interested in the snapshot of the current UK buy-to-let market provided by UCB Home Loans, subsidiary of Nationwide. Significantly few of the major English cities were singled out, with the top locations for investors proving to be in Wales and Northern Ireland. The buy-to-let market looks particularly strong in Swansea, where the area around the docks is...

Brazil merits serious consideration as a location for those looking to buy property overseas, according to new research. The UK's Property Investor and Homebuyer Show North has calculated that capital growth in Brazilian property has been around 20 per cent in recent years, beating other high performers in Europe such as Spain (17 per cent) and France (10 per cent). David Green, sales director with Brazil...