The Northern Lights BUSINESS
62 | NORTH EUROPEAN BUYERS WORDS | Sean Lightbown
interest in the overseas property industry, with buyers from Scandinavia and Germany coming to the fore. Reports from Spain, for instance, have noted a diversifi cation away from a Brit-heavy market to other European countries. Elsewhere, property showcases in Scandinavia are seeing increased activity on the ground. But how can you pin down that elusive northern European buyer? Eoghan Quinn, commercial director
M
of the Thornsett Group, based in Belgium, believes that it is extremely important that professionals are able to identify the key sub-markets within this umbrella term. “We see a lot of north European buyers in Brussels due to its central location and proximity to the European Union. But you’ve got to treat each market as an individual one.” “You’ve got to sell them what they
uch has been made in recent months of a surge in north European buyer
want, and tailor it. You can not sell one straight product that fi ts all.” However, Quinn also acknowledges that there are subtle differences between what the north Europeans and what the south Europeans buy. “A lot of it comes down to what type of properties they want and the features in it,” says Quinn. “For instance, south Europeans don’t want closed kitchens.” For many buyers sustainability is also becoming a big part of their buying plans. “We are building from scratch as well as in a sustainable manner,” says Sara Collins, marketing manager of Swiss Alps luxury resort Andermatt Swiss Alps. “A lot of clients for us at the minute are looking at sustainability in a big way. One client we have, who is well off, is saying he wants something new but also something that is looking towards the future.” Andermatt’s main markets for buyers are Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK – “these people
have all bought with us”, Collins says. In particular, she believes that German, Austrian and Dutch buyers are keen to fi nd safe places for their cash. “The fi rst priority here is that people want to secure their money, and they can do that safely in Switzerland.” However, “there is also the lifestyle aspect. Swiss lifestyle chalets here are
“Spain is the top overseas destination for Danes and has been for the last nine years”
ideal for ski fanatics, and rich countries like Austria have plenty of them.” Collins also revealed that even though buyers from outside of the continent subscribe to the ‘bigger is better’ mantra, north Europeans can be very fussy about the size of their overseas property in the opposite way … and want to make best use of it. For example, German buyers prefer
www.opp.org.uk | JANUARY 2012
In these troublesome times it is imperative that overseas property professionals are aware of, and can access, the world’s wealthiest new buyer markets. And, with some of the world’s strongest-performing economies northern Europe, Scandinavia and beyond has suddenly become a hotbed of eager international investors.
apartments “of only 100 square metres to 120 square metres”, says Collins. On top of this, “they put them into the rental pool, which ensures the resort has no cold beds.”
Danish buyers are also coming to the fore, if media coverage is anything to go by. A new series focused on buying homes abroad in the New Year. At the beginning of 2012, the Danish television station TV3 will launch a new programme called “Two properties – one price”.
The format of the programmes will be similar to a previous series called “Auctioneer’s Hammer,” and will invite viewers to guess the price of the overseas properties featured. Each of the six programmes will visit two different countries and will see, for example, to contrast a property in Southern France with one in Tuscany in Italy.
Other countries in the programme series include Thailand v USA (Florida), Spain (Gran Canaria) v Egypt, Sweden v Germany (Berlin), Bulgaria v Turkey, Croatia v Spain. The fi rst programme is due to be broadcast on January 22.
And Ole Bolvig Hansen of
exhibitions company Bolig I Udlandet believes that the Danish appetite for overseas property is still strong despite the climate.
“Spain is the top overseas buying destination for Danes and has been for the last nine years,” Hansen said. “After that, we have Italy Greece, Turkey, Thailand and Cyprus.”
Sun seekers | Many north European buyers are looking to Spain as property there becomes more and more aff ordable
“And now we are starting to see Florida becoming popular.” Hansen also believes that Danes focus on the lifestyle type of purchase. “Most of the buyers, especially in this climate, are holiday home purchasers,” he said. “Lots of Danes even buy in Sweden for summer houses, so that it is not too far away.” Affordable Spain is seeing a huge increase in interest in activity according
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