Property, particularly in the form of a holiday home has become one of the biggest ways for people to save for their retirement with around seven million homeowners using the sale of their homes to help themselves.

Over the last 10 years the Western world has enjoyed the biggest property boom in its history. Over the last decade house prices have boomed in almost every developed market with the exception of Germany and Japan. This has resulted in thousands of investors buying a holiday home so that they can make a tidy profit when it comes to selling on.

Buy - to - let has also become a popular concept as people have begun to realise how much money can be made from buying a holiday home and then renting it out. This in itself can provide investors with thousands of pounds every year to put towards their retirement.

British residents buying property abroad is not unusual and the value of property in developed economies has increased by 30 trillion dollars over the last five years. This trend started about 20 years ago and those who now want to sell up in time for their retirement are starting to reap the benefits.

As 20 years ago there wasn't as much demand for people wanting a holiday home, property was a lot cheaper. However, the sudden desire for properties abroad means that house prices have gone up which comes as a massive benefit to early investors. This means that people who bought a holiday home 20 years ago are now making a very healthy profit when selling up. This has proved very helpful for those looking to retire and it provides much needed funds.

Although prices have gone up, investing in a holiday home is still likely to be a successful way of investing in your future. It is very rare that house prices go down and if anything they are more likely to increase. This means that there is a strong possibility that by the time you retire prices will have gone up enough to help fund your retirement. Bearing this in mind it is hardly surprising that many people are buying a holiday home instead of a second property in the UK.