^{Tuesday 24th August 2010}

Five countries account for 91% of interest in the overseas property market according to figures released by the Primelocation International Search Index.

Spain, France, USA, Italy and Portugal are responsible for the bulk of all international property searches on Primelocation International. In contrast these five countries made up just 77% of the total in 2008.

The 14% swing indicates that international property buyers place a high value on the familiarity of destinations in Western Europe and America that have traditionally offered security and price appreciation over the longer term. On the other hand, countries such as Bulgaria that became popular with UK buyers much more recently have seen a searches increase at a slower rate post credit crunch.

Cyprus, Turkey and the UAE come in behind the top five countries after showing huge growth in searches performed during 2010. Portugal saw the biggest increase in searches with 20% more people search for properties in the country.

In total international property searches were up 3% in July and up a staggering 108% on the same period in 2009.

For more information on the search index or to view international properties, please visit www.primelocation.com.