Best places in the world to buy a holiday home
Here at Schofields we like to give people the best information about buying a holiday home in both the UK and abroad, and our team of researchers have been busy compiling the best destinations for a holiday home that will provide the best investments.
Our research found that Catalonia in Spain proved to have the best return on investment, with high rental yields and a bustling tourism sector, closely followed by Orlando in the US and the Provence region of France.
We started by identifying the most travelled to countries of the world, which included France (84.7 million tourists per year), United States (69.8 million tourists per year), Spain (60.7 million tourists per year), China (55.7 million tourists per year) and Italy (47.7 million tourists per year). Then we identified the most popular destinations in those countries and looked at 2 bedroom property prices in good locations that would be perfect for holiday rentals.
Average weekly rental prices were then compiled and a gross return on investment calculated based on renting the property out for 25 weeks of the year. Catalonia came top of the pile, with an impressive 18.59% return on investment. With lower house prices than other destinations and a health tourism sector investors could see a potential gross rent of £26,215 per year based on renting the property for 25 weeks.
Other Spanish destinations also fared well with the Balearic Islands potentially returning 10.22% ROI, Andalucía with 7.82% ROI and the Canary Islands with 7.72% ROI. From the research, we found that Spain was overall the best place to invest in a holiday home.
Orlando in the US also scored high with a return on investment of 16.7% based on 25 weeks of rental income per year. With an average house price of just $91,000 (£56,791) and weekly rental of $595 (£380), coupled with a bustling tourist sector comprising of mainly young families, buying a holiday home in Orlando is cheaper than you think.
Although attracting over 84.7 million tourists in 20133, France’s higher property prices meant that the return on investment was lower than Spain’s. The region of Provence came top of the list of French destinations with a 9.67% return on investment.
Bottom of the pile was China with the lowest ROI figures out of all of the countries. Its super high property prices and mediocre rental yields meant that it had much lower potential than other destinations.
Our very own Phil Schofield commented on the research saying:
“For those looking to invest in property, a holiday home is a great choice, especially abroad. Not only can you make money from rental incomes, but it also offers you an option to have somewhere to stay when you want a holiday.
The returns of investment we found were good, especially when you consider how long you keep the property. Obviously when looking for property abroad, you need to be aware of local laws and any costs that might be incurred in the country you’re buying in.”
(All figures are gross figures before any expenses, local taxes and maintenance for two bedroom houses or apartments (depending on location) and being occupied for 25 weeks per year.)
Our design team have compiled the figures into a handy infographic so you can easily see all of the destinations and return on investment. Check it out below:
Where to buy an international holiday home – An infographic by the team at Schofields