Overseas property hunters looking to buy in Europe can lose in excess of £9,000 as a result of poor exchange rates offered by High Street banks, independent analysis for Currencies.co.uk shows.
The average foreign property buyer, spending €200,000 on their overseas home would spend on average £167,291 using a specialist foreign currency provider compared with an average of £171,524 being offered by the leading high street banks – a massive £4,233 difference, the independent analysis by GSA found.
Specialist foreign currency providers can offer around 5% more than the High Street as they use commercial exchange rates to determine the value.
Commenting on the findings, Stephen Hughes, Director at Currencies.co.uk said:
“Despite the huge savings that can be made on large currency transactions by using a company such as ours, we're astonished that so many people don't shop around and just use their bank. We hope that by highlighting just how much exchange rates can vary that people think more carefully about their international money transfers."
"Interest in purchasing properties overseas is returning. We've seen a 32% increase in the number of customers buying properties in Europe in the last three months, compared to the same period in 2011. We're keen to ensure that, in these difficult economic times that their money works as hard for them as possible.” he added.