Britons are taking advantage of late summer deals to snap up trips to the continent for stays in a Portugal property, among others.

Research carried out by holiday specialist Hotels.com suggested Portugal property searches saw an increase in popularity, in addition to Italian and French property searches.

The group found that more sun-seekers used the last week in August to book late summer vacations this year.

Searches for holidays in Albufeira, Portugal, are up 350 per cent on last year, while interest in trips to Nice increased by 85 per cent and searches for property in Sorrento, Italy, went up by 45 per cent.

Alison Couper, director of communications at the company, commented: "The surge in last-minute searches shows travellers are keen to snap up the many great deals to be had."

The study also found that searches for Spanish property saw an increase in popularity compared to 2009 – Marbella was found to be the favoured spot in the country with a 20 per cent increase in enquiries.

Earlier this week, Frank Crowley, a director of Azure Overseas, told Write About Property that the value of Portugal property could rise by as much as 50 to 75 per cent over the next five years, as more visitors flock to the country’s Silver Coast.

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