Holidaylettings.co.uk trend tracker - summer 2007

Research from Holidaylettings.co.uk shows how Spain is faring amongst new competition and Mexico marks its place on the map.

Holiday Homes and Owners
With yet another interest rate rise in the bag for the banks, expect the British obsession with property investment to take another step towards the nearest airport and the newest investment hotspot. Holidaylettings.co.uk has seen an abundance of holiday homes being advertised in new locations since the start of the year and now offers accommodation in 100 countries.

New countries on the holiday home map Jan – June ‘07
1. Croatia
2. Hungary
3. Slovenia
4. Mexico
5. Argentina

Countries adding greatest volume of holiday homes June ‘06 - June ‘07
1. Spain
2. France
3. Itlay
4. Portugal
5. Cyprus

New self-catering holiday offerings include eagerly awaited Eastern Europe entrants Poland, Estonia and Slovenia and a South American influx, most notably in México, Argentina and Brazil. Dubai has come into its own in the last 12 months with its offering of self catering accommodation as an alternative to hotels. With many new developments underway there the number of self catering options is expected to grow.

Traditional holiday home favourites France, Italy, Spain and Florida, where tourism and holiday property are already so well established are still attracting investors, a growing number of which cover their costs by letting them out to holidaymakers. Over 2,000 Spanish holiday properties have been added to the site in the first six months of 2007, compared to only 1,200 added in the same period last year.

For those seeking the laid back lifestyle and temperate climate found in Spain, but away from the over development of the Costas, Portugal has experienced the fiercest holiday home growth in Western Europe in the last year. The number of Portuguese holiday homes available to let through Holidaylettings.co.uk has increased from 300 to just under 1,000 in the last 12 months, an increase in excess of 300%.

Another destination showing investment promise and working on attracting more holidaymakers is Cyprus. The number of holiday home rentals in Cyprus has more than doubled since June last year, supporting figures from the Cypriot Land Registry which reveal that 12,000 Britons now own homes in Cyprus.

“These figures demonstrate the ongoing attraction of Western Europe as an investment location and how, with the case of Portugal, with its easy access from the UK it still has property investment potential,” says Ross Elder, MD of Holidaylettings.co.uk.

“With yet more investment in Eastern Europe and South America it will be interesting to monitor how these markets develop in the next couple of years. It is vital for investors that there is a sufficient tourism draw and affordable flights are available in order for holidaymakers to be drawn to these areas. No matter how many developments are built, renovations completed or holiday homes advertised there needs to be a demand from holidaymakers for self catering accommodation.”

Holidaymakers and Tourism
Earlier this year Continental Research predicted that 63% of UK adults would book part of their holiday online this year. 75% more people browse Holidaylettings.co.uk each day than this time last year, with a recent record 50,000 visitors in one day, demonstrating a leap in popularity of self catering accommodation and online holiday booking.

Countries most in demand for holiday lettings June 2007
1. Balearic Islands
2. Australia
3. Malta
4. Germany
5. Egypt
6. England
7. Croatia
8. Thailand
9. Greece
10. Italy

Most importantly for investors in Eastern European markets and touted property hotspots, holidaymakers are being drawn in. Based on the number of booking enquiries sent to each holiday home in June 2007 Croatia and Hungary attracted the highest number of enquiries per property in Eastern Europe during this period, with Croatia exceeding the site average by 36%. The level of interest in Hungary changed little from the same period in 2006 and Croatia grew. Interest in Bulgarian holiday homes was slightly below the site average, but there are more Bulgarian properties for holidaymakers to choose from currently than in Croatia and Hungary.

An example of the promise Croatia has to offer both in the volume of new holiday homes available to let but also the range and quality of accommodation is Hiza Suzanna (holidaylettings.co.uk/20393), a beautifully restored house near Istria that offers either two or four bedroom accommodation, depending on your needs.

Countries that shone in June based on the number of enquiries per property include Greece, Egypt, Germany, Thailand and Morocco. Although interest in Morocco has declined in comparison to the same period last year, it still attracted an above site average number of enquiries in June. Interest in Egypt was 40% above average and stable with enquiries in June 2006. Enquiries about German and Thai holiday accommodation were above the site average and higher than for the same period last year. The demand for German holiday homes currently outstrips the number of properties available to let by some way and therefore sends a promising message to those looking to invest there and offer short term lets.

With June being a mostly damp month in the UK the Balearic Islands proved to be the most popular location for those researching holidays in June; an ideal short haul escape to the sun, it attracted over 2,000 enquiries for the 400 advertised properties, double the site enquiry average for the month. Italy and America’s East Coast also attracted above average enquiries. By comparison France drew numbers just below the average.

These figures are based on the volume of enquiries sent to one country and are relative to the number of properties advertised in that country. Whilst Spain received a below site average number of contacts per property, as a country it still attracted 27% of all booking enquiries in June and accounts for 29% of all properties on the site. France and the UK followed with 13% (13% and 11% of all properties respectively), Italy with 9% (8% of all properties).

“A number of conclusions can be drawn from these figures,” says Ross Elder. “It could be that increased awareness of the impact of travel on the environment is acting as a catalyst for people enquiring about holidaying in the UK, despite the weather. What we are also seeing is that as more and more people look to the Internet to find a holiday bargain, there is a mix of family favourite destinations and an increasing bravery to explore new locations such as Egypt and Morocco that were once dominated by hotels and travel packages or deemed accessible only to the wealthier amongst us.”