Buy-to-let investor look abroad for growth

People desperate to take advantage of the housing boom are now looking abroad to secure their share of the market.

14:49 14 October 2004

People desperate to take advantage of the housing boom are now looking abroad to secure their share of the market.

Many property speculators in the UK are buying up properties thousands of miles away, hoping to profit by letting them out.

Buy-to-let has been booming in Britain during the property price explosion of the last few years, but it now appears British prospectors are looking at areas such as the Czech Republic, where prices are expected to continue rising.

Many investors are of the opinion that there is little growth left in the UK market as interest rates rise and fears grow over the possibility of a crash.

Scotland is considered by some to be one of the last so-called "property hotspots" in Britain.

News of the new trend comes on the back of a recent survey which found that many people intend to use their property investments to top up their funds during retirement.

However, as the property market in the UK slows down, that route is beginning to appear more risky and as such investors are looking further afield to find properties most likely to see growth.