With 5.5 million British people living abroad, and 200,000 Britons travelling abroad every year in search of buying a property overseas, Foreign Currency Direct, asked a GB representative sample of 2,315 people which country they thought was the best place to buy abroad.

The results reveal that the British public is playing it safe, according to Peter S Ellis, C.E.O. of Foreign Currency Direct; "There are so many more lucrative investment opportunities that could be made if the British public invested in properties in lesser unknown and up-and-coming destinations rather than in the traditional Spain and France."

Of the 61.4 million holidays being taken each year by Brits, 25.8 million of these are to France and Spain. With such large numbers heading to these destinations it's not surprising that they have come out on top with people buying abroad.

Brits looking to buy abroad are not fully considering emerging markets for their foreign property investments, which is where they have opportunities to purchase at the lowest possible prices to maximize their return on investment.

Foreign Currency Direct is calling for prospective buyers to be brave in their decision to move abroad and consider one of their suggestions, as detailed in the appendix. As the eyes and ears of the property market, they have seen a marked changed in the attitude of British people, who appear to be more and more disgruntled and have seen what they call ‘The Great British Bail Out'.

Below are 5 places Foreign Currency Direct plc suggest people should be looking at for that lucrative investment opportunity:

Cape Verde

Cape Verde is a group of islands 385 miles (620 km) west of Senegal, West Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the ultimate "virgin" property investment market where individuals can buy beachfront property at prices unobtainable in most other locations.

Having been described as the "New Canary Islands" many experts are expecting a large increase in the number of tourist visitors, which in turn should bring with it a booming rental market.

Morocco

Bordered by Mauritania and Algeria, Morocco is situated on the northwestern tip of Africa. The coastline runs along the Mediterranean, through the Straits of Gibraltar to the Atlantic and a short 14km stretch separates Tangiers from Gibraltar and Spain. Property here is quickly becoming one of the leading luxury emerging markets. It is the very high build quality, the relatively low cost coupled with the year round climate in most areas that is the driving force behind the continued development. The "Vision 2010" initiative has 6 primary resorts marked for major investment and these will be the locations for most of the new property development in the near future.

Hungary

Since joining the EU in 2004, Hungary has evolved into one of the wealthiest economies in central Europe. As a result 25,000 foreigners have purchased real estate in Budapest in the last four years, by far the largest group made up of British and Irish buyers. The flow has increased again since the arrival of Budapest on the map for budget airlines. Outside of Budapest spa towns such as Zalakaros and the villages around Lake Balaton are proving popular, as is the region around Zala with quick access to ski resorts in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia.

Poland

Property in Poland is an increasingly attractive investment opportunity for overseas buyers, and since Poland joined the EU in May 2004, much of the red tape that used to surround the property market in Poland has been removed.
It has been estimated that 15 Billion Euros will be invested into Poland from overseas over the next five years. That, combined with a strong economy and the introduction of the Euro in the near future, makes Poland high on the list for many Investors. Furthermore recent investors have demonstrated up to 30% capital growth per year. Combine that with no capital gains tax when you sell your property after five years, or if you reinvest in another property within two years of the sale and you can quickly see why Poland is featuring prominently in investor lists as one of the key emerging markets to focus on.

Montenegro

Montenegro is a country that offers property investors some of the most exciting real estate investment opportunities in Europe at the moment.

It is also a stunningly beautiful country recovering effectively from the ravages of war and positioned for EU accession talks in the near future making the future of Montenegro's economic development positive and making the country highly interesting from the property investor's point of view. The key to the profitability and attraction of Montenegro's emerging real estate market is the long term future development of the country. The Government of Montenegro is committed to working towards EU accession and as a result they are structuring their economy accordingly and if, as is expected, they achieve their dream of full EU membership they will benefit substantially in financial terms. For this reason especially property investors looking for a highly affordable long term bet, Montenegro is well worth a closer look.