Weak pound forces expats home

The UK has experienced a resurgence in expats returning home with a massive rise of 37 percent in the past year. In contrast just 18 percent moved out of Britain according to a survey released by reallymoving.com.

Over recent years many thousands of Britons have decided to make the move abroad with European favourites such as Spain and France all offering warmer weather and significantly cheaper property prices. However, the strong performance of the euro against the British pound has meant that the cost of living abroad has been pushed up, reversing past expat trends.

Ireland and Spain have both been suffering badly from the recession. Spanish expats are returning home at a rate of 39 percent while Ireland has seen a phenomenal 75 percent rise. The figures reflect the huge falling in both economies and property prices in both countries. British expats who once saw a move as a prime opportunity to snap up cheap property overseas are now suffering from depleted equity, particularly given that pension funds are still paid out in pounds. Elsewhere in Europe expats in France, Germany and Italy are all beginning to follow suit.

Reallymoving’s director Rosemary Rogers confirmed that the weakening pound meant that many expats can no longer afford to live in Europe. Rogers said that those who have retained a second UK property will likely face less difficulty than their counterparts that have invested their savings in homes across Europe.

The best advice is for anyone considering buying abroad to hold off until the recession is over and markets stabilise.