Return on investment (ROI) is the main issue that motivates people buying property in Croatia and other foreign countries, according to new research...

A poll of 12,000 overseas property owners, carried out by Savills Research and Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, revealed that 53 per cent of buyers were motivated by pure investment.

Another 18 per cent of respondents said their purchase was intended for use as a retirement home and 11 per cent saw it as a method of boosting retirement income, reports CroatianVenture.com.

Ten per cent bought property in Croatia and other countries to use as a second home or holiday accommodation and four per cent said their aim was to provide a place for extended family to stay.

Lucian Cook, director of Savills, said: "Over half of all respondents cited investment as the main reason for purchase with rental potential being the most important financial consideration influencing their purchase.

"With this in mind purchasers are increasingly looking further afield to emerging coastal destinations where entry into the overseas homeownership market currently is more affordable."

Alexis de Belloy, managing director of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, said that the company had seen a "particularly marked" increase in property in Croatia, Morocco, Bulgaria and other emerging tourist locations.