Investing Trends

The term 'global village' has been around for some time but is now in the 21st century coming to real fruition. It refers to the fact that the world has as such become smaller through super fast communication systems, jets that cross continents effortlessly and increasing interaction between nations.

Where as the USA has for many decades been the economic leader that had to carry most of the world on it's shoulders, the 21st.century has seen an important shift. The sleeping giant, China, has awaken and is sweeping up resources world wide to feed it's immense development need. The Indian continent is also burning with new energy and requires much to keep their country's economic drive satisfied. Many other developing countries are also attaching themselves to this new momentum and old timers like Germany are showing once again their mettle.

A company will in this new world wide hub of economic activities have irons in the fire in many places. Whilst it's head office might be in London, it's factories, shops etc. could be in 10 different countries. Risk is thus spread through this method of diversification and the home country's currency and other internal aspects do not have such a direct effect on company profit any more.

What effect does this have on the property investment market? This movement of people from the head office in one country to a management position in one of the subsidiaries for example, will have the effect that those people will stay for quite some time in the foreign country. Often they bring their families with and will then look out for comfortable dwellings in the vicinity of their working place.

In time their families will get used to the new lifestyle and will start to make friends, visit the local attractions etc. and will later on remember with fondness the time in a foreign country.

In practice, it often happens that the employee from head office will start to think about property investment after a few years in the foreign country, as it will feel more and more like a second home to him/her and their family.

Apart from the fact that they will start to feel at home there, they will also realize that with the home country's currency in their favour, property is much cheaper and that they can afford to buy a superior house to the one that could be bought at home.

Furthermore, because they start to know the foreign country better through traveling during holidays and weekends, they will know about the many places still to be visited in that country. When they thus decide to buy a home it will also be with the vision that should they be called back to the homeland, they can always come back to their house in the second country for holidays.

Because family and friends will also come visiting, a new breed of people fascinated with what that country can offer, is normally in the making and they too, will often buy property on strength of beauty found and the home
country's currency's buying power. Normally the preferred property will be located on the coastline areas where bargains in terms of the international norm is still to be found.

Because of the communication made possible by television, the internet and international contact, strange cultures become less strange in time and normal human contact becomes the measure of interaction. A world culture is growing where people just don't find each other so menacing or weird as before. Interesting friendships are formed and lead increasingly to visits locally and abroad between likeminded individuals.

And thus the international interest in property investment becomes more and more the by-product of economic interaction and more foreigners own property in other countries than ever before.