Bargain savvy buyers are increasingly investing in bank owned or foreclosed properties in order to snap up deals, with interest in foreclosure properties increasing in 21 out of the 25 countries surveyed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Global Distressed Property Monitor.
Investors in Scandinavia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, France and Japan are showing the greatest appetite for this kind of investment, while much of the housing market in the USA, especially in Florida, is based on foreclosed sales.
According to the survey¹s findings, many nations, especially those in Europe that have been adversely affected by the economic crisis, are predicting higher levels of bank owned stock on the market over the course of the first quarter of 2012, with supply expected to outweigh demand in locations such as the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, where many overseas buyers have seized on the opportunity to pick up impressive properties at bargain properties.
By contrast, property professionals in countries such as Brazil, Canada and Russia are anticipating a decline in the availability of foreclosed real estate assets, despite investor interest seeming positive.
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