- Any analysis of our foreign-property-buying habits is always problematic because of the lack of definitive data. Savills, the nationwide estate agency, is the latest to have a stab. Its survey of foreign-homeowners, in conjunction with Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, suggests that 400,000 of us have property abroad, worth a staggering £52 billion in total. The bulk of second homes — some 56% — are in Spain and France, but emerging markets such as Bulgaria and Croatia are catching up fast. Average rental yields are 4.6% — barely enough to cover the mortgage in most cases.

- Assetz, the property investment group, has tipped Poland as the best place to put your money. The former communist country tops its table of 14 destinations, with a total return of 165% on cash invested, taking into account buying costs, rental yields and capital growth. Not surprisingly, given the strength of the British property market, the UK is in second place on 63%, followed by Bulgaria (54%), France (51%), Turkey (45%) and Greece (43%). For more details, visit www.assetz.co.uk .

- Britain is not the only country to see huge differences in prices between regions. According to a study by www.isutus.com , a Spanish property portal, the average three-bed house in Barcelona, the most expensive of Spain’s provinces, costs £456,406 — almost five times more expensive than in Granada, in the south, where a similar property would cost £94,770. This compares with £216,321 for the country as a whole.

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