(1888PressRelease)
February 22, 2007 - The majority of retired Brits head to the traditionally strong ex-pat communities of southern France and the east and south coasts of Spain, which have been favourite tourist destinations for UK holidaymakers for decades.
However, although properties in these regions are usually still cheaper than the average price of a home in the UK, they are both mature markets and do not represent the dramatic capital gains that were seen back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Therefore, private investors have been looking to the east in the last five years to suss out the best returns on investment. But for retirees, it is usually the complete package that is more important.
Older investors tend to stick to the more established markets, not only because there is less financial risk, but also due to the higher quality of medical services on offer.
"So far, Western Europe is by far the most popular with retirees; that's because infrastructure and medical services can be relied upon," said Pierre Williams, head of communications at the Inside Track Group.
This corresponds with recent research revealed by International Living magazine's Annual Quality of Life Index, which concluded that France offers the best quality of life out of any country in the world.
France emerged victorious in the survey which judged that affordable housing, the quality of health care, accessibility of cultural amenities and environmental standard outweighed the high taxes and high cost of living.
However, Mr Williams believes that the hegemony of western Europe will not continue forever. He said: "[France's dominance] is likely to shift as improvements in these [health care, cultural amenities etc] spread through eastern Europe."
Mr Williams added: "As far as eastern Europe is concerned, Cyprus is the number one spot for Brit retirees."
Since the EU expanded in 2004 to incorporate Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Estonia among five others and Bulgaria and Romania's accession on January 1 st this year, economic growth in eastern Europe has been strong.
As these countries develop their social, legal and physical infrastructures, they are more likely to become important figures on the foreign property map.
Retirees head to Cyprus especially because of its colonial links with the UK, meaning that English is widely spoken on the island and the land registry laws are broadly similar to those at home.
