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The David Lloyd Signature Homes website has gone live and the new company is open for business.

The company will be featuring some of the best quality real estate from locations all around the world, currently focusing on the top European locations such as France, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Madeira but with new and more exotic locations planned for the future.

Operations Director, Richard Gordon said: “It has been a long haul and has taken us over a year to get to this point. But we are delighted that the website is finally finished and we are open for business.

“We have a range of superb hand-picked properties on offer and for our launch are featuring the top European destinations. But we are already planning to expand the range to include some simply stunning properties in more exotic locations such as South Africa, the Carribean, and Sri Lanka.”

The company aims to minimise the risks when buying property overseas by carefully selecting properties and working only with developers with a strong track record, and promotes 5 star luxury property with additional facilities such as golf, tennis, spas and restaurants.

Interest in the far-reaching property markets of Australia, New Zealand and Canada has waned and property searchers have flocked back to Europe as the mercury rises in the northern hemisphere, notes the latest data from real estate portal Rightmove.

According to the website’s latest search data, searches for property in recession-hit European destinations rose significantly last month, a significant departure from February’s figures which saw Antipodean destinations Australia and New Zealand dominate enquiries. Searches for property in Italy were up 7% in April, with Greek real estate searches up 5% and Spain 3%. All of the top 10 trending search regions were also in Europe, with Spain’s Valencia province leading the pack.

“Buyers are still fascinated with the Spanish province of Valencia”, said Rightmove’s head of overseas search, Shameem Golamy. “Not only is the Spanish Grand Prix coming to the region in June, it’s also been included in the Lonely Planet’s top 10 beach cities once again. The allure of reduced price properties is also attracting extra interest in other regions in Spain, with Malaga, Minorca and Alicante all seeing increased user activity in April.”

Whilst national debt crises in Spain and Greece particularly have led to properties being reduced by up to 50% of their original asking prices, the warmer weather could also be seen to be playing a key role in bringing buyers back to the European market, with the prospect of owning a home in time for summer holidays becoming increasingly alluring.

Meanwhile, the strength of the Australian dollar in particular may have led investors to shy away from buying real estate in the country, says Moneycorp dealing manager David Kerns. “The currency strength has resulted in the waning appeal of Australian property to Brits over the course of this year”, he said. “On the other hand, falling property prices in Italy have contributed to an increasing number of Brits eyeing up opportunities there.”

(Source: The Move Channel)

Monarch Airlines, one the leading carriers to Spain, is increasing its programme of flights to the land of sun, sea and sand from April due to growing customer demand.

Keen to escape to sunnier climes, the airline which operates regular flights from London Gatwick and Manchester airports, has added additional flights from the UK to holiday and second home hotspots of Malaga on the Costa del Sol, Alicante on the Costa Blanca and the Balearic island of Majorca.

As the MD of Monarch Airlines commented: “We have been astonished by the soaring demand for Monarch flights in April, which we believe is being driven by the proximity of Easter to the additional bank holiday. Bookings for April are already up 49% compared with the same time last year with demand from customers still increasing.”

Whatever your opinion of banks and currency companies, there is no denying their instincts for making a quick buck.

Financial companies were the first to exit the overseas property market when the bad times hit and now they seem to returning.

Six exhibitors at next weeks A Place in the Sun Live are from financial institutions, up from two in 2010.  Managing Director, Andy Bridge belives it could be sign that things are picking up.

“Stand bookings are ahead over 10% on this time last year.  It is good to see so many financial businesses returning.  It is probably a reflection of the number of enquiries they are receiving from buyers and is a hopefully a sign the sector is beginning to recover”.

Financial exhibitors at A Place in the Sun Live next week include Halo Financial and Lloyds TSB International.

(Source: Global Edge)