Highest activity since August ‘08 creates ‘super search summer’ on Rightmove

Highlights

•  63% of locations saw increases in searches, 36% decreases, 1% no changes

• August searches up 32% on July, July up 20% on June

• Portugal  increases market share by 12% and knocks Italy back to 5^th place country

• Canada  increases market share by another 33% and enters top 30

Commentary

Another strong month for activity on Rightmove Overseas resulted in a 32% increase in searches for overseas property and the highest overall volume of searches since August last year. Holidaymakers looking to prolong the magic or combining inspection trips with their vacations resulted into big lifts to the majority of search destinations. Consumer confidence in the UK market is picking up and it seems that overseas is following suit. Agents and developers with good propositions and strong brands are well placed to take advantage of this upsurge in interest before the end of year slow down begins.

Robin Wilson, Head of Overseas at Rightmove commented:

“A second month of strong growth is great news for the industry, but it comes with a caveat that buyers are now being much more picky and considered with their searches. ‘Quick-buck’ investments and flipping properties based on inflated price bubbles don’t hold the same attraction. Buyers we work with now have become much more discerning about the quality of property, features, location and the agent or developer they’re buying from. Advertisers have to invest some effort in their proposition through presentation, pricing or deals, but there’s no doubt that for the summer season, appetite for overseas property has returned."

Commenting on the climbers and fallers in this month’s search chart Wilson said:

“With Skiing season about to kick off, it seems Austria has stolen an early lead on interest with searches in Kärnten, at the Eastern end of the Alps, up nearly 62%. Austria isn’t the cheapest destination, to buy or holiday in, but it does have stability and a premium image which can go a long way to securing investments in property over the long term.

Turkey continues to benefit from good rates of exchange and could be getting a boost from holiday makers returning from summer vacations and looking to buy a property for more permanent options.

Portugal bumping Italy back to 5^th place in our top countries table is probably a combination of continuing nerves about the state of the Spanish market and Portugal’s improving reputation as a quality alternative to Spain with all the facilities and weather but less of the mass market.”

Search Data Highlights (download full PDF report)

Top 10 Climbers and Fallers this month (areas with > 100 searches a day)

Top 10 Trending^* Searches this month (areas with > 100 searches a day)

These are the locations showing the most consistent positive performance in searches on Rightmove Overseas.

*Chart Trend is a rolling average of the three previous monthly changes in chart position

Download the full Rightmoveoverseas Search Report

Editors Notes

This data is complied from searches made by users of www.rightmoveoverseas.co.uk during the period 1^st August to 31^st August 2009. Our website records explicit searches that users make for locations chosen from our map based search, or that are entered into search fields and includes tourist regions we have defined for ease of recognition. This month 50,452 locations received searches.

• % Change Searches is the % change in searches on the previous month
• Chart position is absolute and determined by aggregate search volume for that location i.e. all the explicit searches for the location plus any explicit searches for sub-regions of the location e.g. Searches for ‘France’ include searches for ‘Paris’.
• Monthly Chart Change is the difference in chart position on the previous month.
• Quarterly Chart Change is the difference in chart position from 3 months ago.
• Yearly Chart Change is the difference in chart position from 12 months ago.
• Chart Trend is a rolling average of the three previous monthly changes in chart position.

The data in this report does not constitute specific advice, forecast or recommendation and is for general interest only. Readers must perform their own research and seek independent professional advice before making any decision to purchase or invest in property abroad.

About Rightmove Overseas

Rightmove Overseas is part of Rightmove.co.uk, the UK’s number one property website and advertises properties for sale in over 90 countries around the globe from both agents and owners. On average, Rightmove Overseas receives 80,000 unique visitors a week and generates over 1,000,000 overseas property searches a month for advertisers. Visit us at www.rightmoveoverseas.co.uk.