US buyers are stepping up their property buying activity overseas on the back of an increasingly strong dollar.
Demand for property in the Cayman Islands has doubled, according to a report by chartered surveyors and consultants Charterland. The number of buyers registered in the USA with the islands’ land registry surged from 5.61 per cent to 10.04 per cent in 2014, while Canada saw a similar rise from 1.5 per cent to 2.35 per cent.
In Europe, US buyers have been even more active, thanks to the dollar recently recahing a 12-year high against the weak single currency.
Jane Smith of local property agency Magic Marche says they have seen enquiries surge 20 per cent in the first six months of 2015.
With a strong US dollar against the Euro, buyers from the USA have increased in numbers,” she comments. “Restored country houses remain the most popular choice but we’ve also seen a growing trend in townhouses, where buyers can enjoy the benefits of having shops, restaurants, cafés and local markets right on their doorstep.”
Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs, founder of family-run holiday home company Appassionata, says that 67 per cent of owners for her latest luxury fractional ownership home, Casa Tre Archi, have been from the USA.
Greece has also seen demand from Americans increase, despite some uncertainty among investors due to the ongoing crisis surrounding Greece’s negotiations for a bailout.
In Mykonos, lettings demand and revenue has doubled this summer, according to Beauchamp Estates.
At the same time, the strengthening US dollar in relation to other major currencies has seen international interest in US property decline: sales transactions to buyers outside of the US fell 10 per cent in 2014, according to the National Association of Realtors.