Retiring Britons looking abroad for second homes

16.05.2006 Growing numbers of Britons are swapping cold and rain for warmer climes abroad when it comes to purchasing a second home. Retiring Britons are purchasing properties abroad and currently one million British pensioners draw their state pension from outside of the UK, according to the Department of Work and Pensions.

Among the popular destinations are Australia, where just under half a million Britons have moved to, and Canada with 151,000. Closer to home, Spain has attracted 71,000, Italy 32,000 and France 31,000.
According to the estate agent, Knight Frank, owning a property abroad is not as daunting a prospect as one might think; "There has been a shift from a second home for retirement being regarded as a luxury to it being something attainable by most people with the drive to achieve it".
Just over a decade ago, the average price of a second home abroad was 165 per cent of the average property price in the UK. But in 2005 the figure had dropped to 90 per cent. The reason may be partly related to the steeper house price inflation in the UK, but could also show that second home aspirations are becoming more widespread.
Currently 2.2 million Britons, accounting for 5 per cent of the population, have a home abroad and according to Barclays this number is set to double. Many use their second homes as buy-to-let investments, others as holiday homes and potential retirement residences.