A poll of potential overseas investors, commissioned by The Homebuyer Show, reports that almost 40% of respondents would invest in emerging markets, followed by beach destinations (19%) and existing markets (15%).

This indicates that people want to make the most from their money by investing in areas that provide long-term growth and high capital gains, such as the Eastern European countries of Bulgaria and Slovakia.

 In fact, over 25% of the people polled are buying a property overseas for long-term capital gains, with the intention of using it as a holiday home coming in second (21%) and short-term holiday lets third (20%).

How to spot investment potential

The poll also revealed that over 50% of people believed that if an area is a budget airline destination, this increases its appeal and investment potential. Other catalysts for an area’s investment potential are if it is a member of the EU (22.41%), if there are new facilities (10.34%), and if there is an international event, for example the Athens Olympics, (5.17%) or extensive media coverage (5.17%).

Nick Clark, Managing Director of The Homebuyer Show, comments: “Buying a property overseas has been a distant dream for many people for a long time. However in reality the process is becoming a lot easier, with many of our exhibitors looking after the entire procedure from initial visit to signing the contract."

"An entire section of the show is dedicated to buying homes abroad, ranging from traditional markets such as Spain, Florida, France, Greece and Italy, to emerging markets such as Bulgaria and Shanghai.”

To find out more about buying homes overseas, as well as in the UK, visit The Homebuyer Show at London’s ExCeL Centre on the weekend of 25-27 February 2005. The show is tailored to cater for people on every rung of the property ladder whether they are first-time buyers, homeowners looking to renovate or improve their house or those seeking a dream home overseas and will include over 200 exhibitors including financial companies, estate agents, property developers, and investment experts.

An unrivalled programme of information-packed seminars presented by leading property experts will provide visitors with the opportunity to gain first-hand advice on a whole range of house buying topics. For more information and advance tickets, visit www.homebuyer.co.uk