If you want to chart the rise and fall of the Spanish property market the foreign investment figures tell their own story. Figures from the Bank of Spain show overseas investors contributed 3.7 billion Euros to the Spanish property market last year, the lowest level since 1999, when it invested 2.9 billion Euros.

As a percentage overseas investment in Spanish property was down 32% last year compared to 2008, and by a frightening 48% compared to the peak of the market in 2003.

The surprising thing is the increase in overseas investment in 2007 and 2008, when the market was already in decline. This was possibly due to do with the large scale corporate property investments that were still being undertaken just before the credit crunch really bit.

Since the down turn in the economy there have been many initiatives to breathe life back into the overseas property market.  Shared ownership / Fractional ownership are one such tool. However results are patchy to date and this form of property ownership will not become the answer the industry was looking for, it will help but not significantly increase overall property sales. It still has a feel of timeshare about it with lots of the negative associations linked rightly or wrongly with that industry.

SIPP’s or Self Invested Personal Pension Plans are another option.  Many developers feel it is vital to make their projects eligible for use with a U.K S.I.P.P as they open up their marketing to the I.F.A generated business. I do feel compliance will add credibility to a project but not all is as clear cut as it seems an again I feel the overall effect on sales will not be dramatic.

For many people it’s not economically practical or legally possible to use a S.I.P.P. There are many benefits but the truth is that the rules are too restrictive for SIPP compliant property to be mass marketed.

Not every county will have tax regulations suitable for use with a U.K S.I.P.P. For instance, Southern Cyprus, Portugal, the Caribbean and Brazil are fine as it stands but other countries will need to be looked at carefully with the respective I.F.A before any investments are considered.

Surprisingly Spain, Italy and Bulgaria are amongst those who do not allow for UK residents to invest directly in property through their pensions, although they can of course invest indirectly through other investment vehicles such as trusts.

These initiatives will of course be of help to the industry but a well priced well located property will sell on its own merits without the need to use these extra financial facilities and incentives.

The UK buyer market is at last showed signs of recovery. The first major overseas property show of the year at Earls Court was reported to be a success.

A Place in the Sun Live in London this year was busier than last a year and had a more positive feel to it than at the 2009 show. Many exhibitors reported being satisfied with the response and number of leads generated. The true measure of success is if these leads result in firm sales of course.

The shows Organisers stated that numbers weren’t up substantially – just 8% compared to last year – but also claimed that buyers were more serious. The big surprise was the budgets stated were of a higher value than expected. People want to find bargains of course but that is not the same thing as wanting to keep the price as low as possible.

It can take months before the true value of the show is apparent. I personally prefer to work with a small number of genuine leads seriously looking at the best options available rather than being busy with a large number of less serious enquiries. The trouble is it is difficult to guess who is a genuine buyer and who is just enjoying the research, so we have to treat all enquiries with the same level of respect. My point is while he signs are encouraging sales are the true indicator of success, so the jury is still out for me.

More and more companies are acting as introducers to overseas property companies and companies dealing in overseas finance. Conti for instance have over 5,000 companies signed up as brokers.

People in the U.K seem to think getting finance to purchase abroad will be difficult. This is of course as a reflection on the U.K market. However this is not really the case. Despite the strength of the Euro, British investors are looking further afield rather than just looking at the U.K market. This makes sense as there are now some very strong and well priced properties available in the overseas market and lenders keen to offer the funds.

Recent research from ‘Primelocation’ the property portal discovered that the number of people searching for international properties increased by 134 per cent between January 2009 and January 2010. That is a good indication of where the market is moving or at least how people are thinking.

For the Spanish, developers last year should be written off . There were only 110,000 planning approvals in 2009, down by 56% on the 2008 figures, and they are insignificant when compared to the 900,000 plus levels of approval at the peak of the market. Planning approvals were at a 50 year low in 2009.

There are a few more starts planned for this year based around a more localised demand in growing cities such as Seville. Green shoots perhaps but not like the weeds overtaking my garden now that spring is here.

Why would developers start building new homes when there are around 1 million unsold new homes already on the market? The answer is of course there are lots of new homes in places where nobody wants to buy them, but a shortage in the areas where there is a growing demand. It has been stated so often in the past but it still remains true, location is the key.

Accounting rules also play a part in the equation because provisions for built but unsold homes are less draconian than those for unused dormant land. Developers have an incentive to start construction, even if they are unable to sell the properties once they are completed because of the strange accounting system. I fail to see how this is helpful to the prospects for the long term recovery of the market but at least is generates some activity in the construction market and therefore much needed employment.

Harlequin Hotels & Resorts are pleased to announce that the Rt Hon Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent & The Grenadines, will be attending the launch of the Buccament Bay Resort at Wembley Stadium, on 24th and 25th April 2010.

The Buccament Bay Launch will be an open weekend to celebrate the opening of the Resort in July 2010. Other guests will include Pat Cash, Andy Townsend, Liverpool Football Club and Trader Vic’s, as well as contemporary musical theatre from the Harlequin Performing Arts Academy with performers from the West End & Broadway.

Buccament Bay will be a 5 star luxury resort in St Vincent & The Grenadines including Liverpool Football Club Soccer School, Pat Cash Tennis Academy, Trader Vic’s restaurant and the Alaia Spa created & operated by ESPA.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued new regulations preventing IFA´s accepting commission on regulated investment products. This however excludes direct property ownership and could be therefore be of benefit to the overseas property industry.

From 2012 The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) means IFA’s will be made to charge a fee for their advice on regulated services such as investment and pension planning. They will also have to declare whether they are offering “independent” or “restrictive” advice.

This will have an adverse impact on around 35,000 IFA´s income. I am pretty sure they will look again at areas where they can still obtain the more lucrative commission based payments and the overseas property market stands out as an obvious market to explore.

This will be a good thing for the industry as I feel only the very best developers will be able to stand up to the level of scrutiny this highly professional body of people will demand. It must raise the overall standards of advice to clients which can long term only enhance the reputation of the industry.

This could affect those overseas agents now who just chase the highest commissions without the correct due diligence checks being undertaken. They will have to raise the standards or they will not survive the competition. As far as I am concerned either option is good.

I expect to see a lot of partnerships being forged over the next couple of years between developers, agents and IFA’s working together to source the best possible and safest investment opportunities.

Already certain developers such as Harlequin Resorts are seeing a large percentage of there clients coming from IFA´s introductions and this is a trend that is bound to grow.

Brazil continues to get a lot of international attention at the moment; some commentators even suggest it will become a economic powerhouse competing with China in years to come.

The low interest rates available in the regions largest economy are certainly attracting the worlds investors. There is currently a shortage of affordable housing in Brazil while the infrastructure of the country has a enormous almost unlimited potential to develop. These are both strong reasons to attract inward investment from overseas.

Brazil has attributes such as the size, scale and quality of the workforce. This allied to the huge natural resources within the country certainly makes the future look exciting for investors and the local population.

The government is also being very forward thinking, with moves such as the recent 18 billion dollar support package for social housing helping enhance its International reputation.

There will of course be a minor downturn in the countries enthusiasm, when England beat them in this years football World cup!

There were many worried investors when Dubai World asked for a six months delay on the repayment of its loans, people were predicting all kinds of financial problems ahead, however concern has now eased since a plan to refinance has emerged. Repayments are now to be spread over the next eight years. The refinance plan was also helped by a cash injection of around a billion pounds from the Dubai financial Support fund.

“This proposal represents the best possible solution for all stakeholders,” Dubai World said. The plan has been supported by many financial institutions including Darahem Financial Brokerage where Ayman al-Saheb said “It boosts sentiment because this is a strong commitment,” He said the companies could now begin “restructuring properly”.

The news has helped investor confidence return to the region and many see this as a low point in Dubai property prices and therefore a good time to look again at what opportunities are currently available for investors.

The U.K government of course predicts a strong upturn in the economy over the next few years and sets out a budget showing how the huge amount of borrowing will be paid off.

Unfortunately these predictions depend on us having good economic growth consistently over the next few years. That’s a very vulnerable position to be in. There’s seems very little contingency planning should we have the odd economic blip over the next few years. Recent events suggest you would have to be very optimistic to believe that will not be the case.

If Britain struggles to pay its debts we could easily suffer the same fate as Portugal has which was downgraded by ratings agency Fitch, from AA to AA-., Britain currently is AAA (still), while Greece is BBB+.

Douglas Renwick from Fitch said: “Although Portugal has not been disproportionately affected by the global downturn, prospects for economic recovery are weaker than 15 European Union peers, which will put pressure on its public finances over the medium term.”

It is fair to say Britain has a more diverse economy than Portugal but a large raise in taxes could yet result in the dreaded double dip and a downgrading of Britains rating.