Germany could be a good long term property investment for buyers, a property analysis firm has suggested.

While buying a property in the continent is becoming increasingly popular, many Brits still opt for traditional areas such as Spain and France but Simon Tweddle, chief analyst for Property Secrets, said that investment in areas German cities such as Hamburg and Munich looks promising.

"When the German property market does pick up, those are likely to be the cities that will grow first, not Berlin," he suggested.

However, he warned that property there will probably not deliver a quick return and can be more difficult to purchase than in other European countries.

"You might have to leave it for ten years before you get any growth. Also, the buying costs tend to be about 12 or 13 per cent of the purchase price which makes it a very expensive market to buy in to."

However, with 80 per cent of Germans renting homes, many of them on a long-term basis, investors could be in a good position to generate income through letting their property out.