The boom in British house prices has seen ownership of homes abroad almost treble in a decade – and could lead to 1.3m Brits living abroad in 20 years time.

Surging property values have seen the properties overseas owned by Britons surge from 102,000 in 1995 to 300,000 today, said a new study released today by business and financial advisers Grant Thornton.

And if the value of UK homes continues to grow, the number of British owned homes abroad could more than quadruples by 2025, according to the firm’s study.

The research claims to put a definite figure on the number of British owned homes abroad, and shows an extra 40,000 overseas homeowners than official Government figures.

It said that the typical owner of a home abroad was either a pensioner with their main residence overseas, or affluent homeowners over the age of 45 who had sought out a foreign property as a second home or investment.

Contrary to the belief that many second homeowners do so initially for pleasure, slightly more respondents said the reason for purchase was investment than a holiday or retirement home – 40% to 38%.

However, all may not be rosy overseas and the surge in popularity of homes abroad has led some experts to worry that Britons are exposing themselves to potential tax problems.

Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at Grant Thornton, said: ‘Thousands of UK nationals have been attracted by the lure of a warm climate, a cheap cost of living and easy access to a second home overseas. However it is all too easy to be seduced into the attractions of overseas property ownership and to ignore the perils.

‘Purchasing a property abroad has important tax implications. Contrary to popular belief, you are still subject to tax on your offshore income and capital gains if you are a UK resident and domiciled. And, if the UK tax system is not complicated enough, the purchaser of a property abroad has to cope with a local tax system that may be culturally dissimilar to our own.’

Despite the current mounting popularity of properties abroad, experts have warned that the buoyant market could depend heavily on the UK property market. Grant Thornton said a potential UK house price bubble over the next three years could distort the market for popular destinations overseas for UK buyers.

Its warning echoing recent reports from leading overseas experts Conti Financial Services and Moneycorp that a growing number of British owners on Spain were selling up top return home.

Maurice Fitzpatrick, senior tax manager at Grant Thornton, said: ‘Any continued increase in overseas second home ownership is heavily dependent on the strength of the UK property market and the wealth it generates. It is this liquidity which influences people in taking the necessary steps to invest abroad. By 2025 this could mean that 1.5m to 2m households in the UK will own a property overseas, an amount which would equate to one-tenth of UK property owners’