British property buyers are finding that the falling value of sterling is having a profound impact on their incomes.
David Howell, Group Chief Executive of Guardian Wealth Management told OPP that the poor exchange rate is particularly acute for retired ex-pats living on fixed incomes or pensions abroad.
He warned that the problem is unlikely to go away in the short term, highlighting the fact that the pound has fallen by around 20 per cent against the euro in the past three years and is currently struggling to hold its own against local currencies in most major expatriate centres.
"With the Eurozone increasing interest rates, in contrast to the UK and the US which are trying to maintain rates as low as possible to stimulate their economies, the ongoing scenario is that the pound is most likely to remain weak against the euro," he argued.
It follows the release of a report from Lloyds TSB, which found that around 1.1 million British ex-pat pensioners are receiving their pensions in sterling, with the amount they collect now less, in real terms, than three years previous because of the exchange rate.