British Citizens set to buy 3 million Overseas Properties

New research by Cater Allen Private Bank, part of Santander suggests that over three million British Citizens are likely to buy a property overseas within the next two years as economic conditions in the UK make strong returns for other types of investment less likely

Its survey of UK clients found that some 2.3 million people already own a property abroad, with around 500,000, or less than 25%, having bought for investment purposes.

However, the bank believes that in light of current domestic market conditions in the UK this number will rise and nearly double (42%) the amount of future buyers will look to purchase for investment reasons.

According to the research, 17% of people aged over 45 are likely to buy abroad by 2010, making them the age group most likely to do so, while one in ten of those aged between 18 and 34 (10%) are also looking to buy overseas - the majority of them, (60%) looking purely as an investment.