More Brits look to emigrate

Traditional ‘second home in the sun’ holiday destinations faced stiff competition from popular emigration destinations such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand in this month’s HIFX Global Property Hotpots.

The league table, produced by the currency specialists, is based on the number of overseas property enquiries they receive per country. This month the Hotspots report reveals increasing enquires from Brits looking to permanently emigrate.

Mark Bodega from HiFX comments “We often see an uplift in the number of emigration enquiries around this time of year as people emerge from the British winter and are keen to realise their dreams of a new life abroad before the year is out. This month we have seen an increasing number of enquires for the ever popular emigration destinations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.”

The percentage of enquiries relating to buying in Australia have doubled since the beginning of the year and more than doubled for New Zealand.

“With a typical three bedroom detached property in New Zealand costing £100,000, no stamp duty or Capital Gains Tax and year-on-year capital appreciation of between 10-15%, its easy to see why so many of us are upping sticks and moving out there for good. A paradise for lovers of the great outdoors, the lifestyle on offer is healthy, fun, and affordable” says Bodega.

One destination which appears to have fallen out of favour with émigrés and overseas holiday home buyers alike is South Africa, with HiFX receiving no enquiries about the area for several months running. Bodega speculates, “We have seen a lot of fluctuation in the South African Rand recently and coupled with ever increasing airfares this could be making South Africa seem like a tricky destination for both people looking to emigrate and those just after a holiday home.”

It is particularly important to consider currency fluctuation when emigrating as the time it takes between making a successful visa application and eventually moving abroad can be anything from nine months to four years. During this time, exchange rate fluctuations can have a huge impact on a person’s future wealth because at various points during the process they will have to convert some or all of their assets into the local currency of the new country. When transferring all your worldly goods even small fluctuations can have a huge impact.

Mark Bodega explains; “Last year we saw the Australian dollar fluctuate by almost 10% (9.7%) so when moving £250,000 ‘down under’ in 2006, currency fluctuation meant you risked losing as much as £24,250.Making thedecision to move to a new country is a big undertaking, both emotionally and financially. The last thing that any family taking the leap would want to do is unnecessarily lose as much as tens of thousands of pounds in the process. Unfortunately though, this is exactly the case for the many people who entrust the transfer of their assets from old to new country to their regular high street bank. This huge loss could be avoided simply by people being aware of the alternatives and making sure they get the best rate for their money, early on in the process.”