Money transfer news: Second home ownership rising

The need to transfer money abroad at a competitive foreign exchange rate could be on the rise as an increasing number of people appear to own property abroad.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), many older British people are dividing their time between their home in the UK and their home abroad.

There are around a quarter of a million older British individuals with a second home located abroad, which can prove costly to maintain.

Despite the extra costs, owning a second home could be a sensible investment for retirement, with couples having an average equity of £250,000 in their additional house.

In addition to this, people of working age are also commuting internationally and working in foreign countries for certain periods of time.

These new trends will increase the need to transfer money abroad and, with the weak pound of late, finding a competitive foreign exchange rate at which to move your funds is all the more important.

This morning (May 6th) the pound was down against the US dollar, trading at $1.64 at 09:00 BST.

Sterling's foreign exchange rate also slipped against the euro as recent data pointed towards an uneven UK recovery.

However, foreign property owners should keep a close eye on the markets as the trend might not last for the long-term.

Adrian Schmidt, foreign exchange strategist at Lloyds, told Reuters that the euro-sterling exchange rate was possibly not "justified by the underlying fundamentals".

In addition to trade and industry data, sterling's foreign exchange rate has been damaged of late by predictions that the Bank of England's base rate is unlikely to be increased for some time to come.

Yesterday, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the 0.5 per cent rate for another month.

The markets are now not pricing in an increase in the base rate until the end of this year. 

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Posted by Eleanor Ward