The British housing market is still inhospitable for both first-time buyers and movers, it has been claimed.
Such an environment might encourage adventurous Brits to look abroad for property in the hope of achieving a better deal.
According to iammoving.com, there has only been a "slight improvement" in the number of homes coming onto the market in the UK.
Partnership manager Jon Brown noted that people often hope to see a year-on-year improvement in new instructions and homebuyers.
However, he feels that 2011 has seen the withdrawal of support for first-time buyers, which is unlikely to help the market regain its strength.
Recent statistics from Lloyds TSB show a 47 per cent decrease in the number of property transactions in England and Wales over the past three years.
Such figures could encourage buyers to look into the best foreign currency exchange rates to transfer money abroad and purchase property in a far-off country, rather than the UK.