People looking for an investment property abroad have been advised to make sure they do plenty of research to make sure they know what they are getting into.

Pelle Langli, the chief executive officer of Emerging Real Estate, a property investment consultancy, said that buyers had to think about a number of factors when deciding on where to invest.

"It''s definitely a positive, having all the information out there on the internet. You can get a feel for what the real market values are before you go in to the market and that can only be a good thing," he said.

He urged people to ask themselves how they would be able to get out of their investment if they had to and to consider the local economy when making a decision about a house purchase.

This week, a new study from Barclays Buying Abroad claimed that increasing numbers of Brits are taking advantage of the fact buying a property abroad has become "easier than ever before" and are getting on the property ladder in other countries.