Foreign property investors 'should choose capital cities'

People looking to buy a property abroad should consider purchasing a home in the capital city, according to a sector expert.

Marc Da-Silva, editor at HomesOverseas.co.uk, says those people would then be buying a home where "everything is happening", so anyone investing in real estate in the United Arab Emirates should think about purchasing a home in its capital, Abu Dhabi.

"The capital city is obviously where … the greatest housing shortages are likely to occur. It is where [there is] the greatest demand for both rental accommodation and resale homes," he explains.

Mr Da-Silva adds that potential investors in real estate in the UAE can also benefit from the "rippling effect" of housing growth, which begins in the country's main city and filters outwards.

His comments come after the recent NatWest International Personal Banking Quality of Life Index revealed that overseas investors who had purchased real estate in the UAE were the fifth most contented homeowners in the world.