This was the year that Irish buyers ploughed millions of pounds into overseas property, snapping up apartments and villas in Spain, Portugal, France, Florida and South Africa. With Dublin house prices reaching an all-time high and mortgage rates at a historically low level, investors were keen to find an affordable outlet for extra cash, or to take advantage of equity in their main home.

Dublin estate agents, quick to see the potential abroad, began to offer a range of new resort developments, most of them in Spain. One Dublin agency has sold 200 units in Spain this year.

The reasons why people are buying abroad vary, but the bottom line is value for money, say all the experts. You can buy a newly built two-bedroom beachfront apartment in upmarket Marbella for £125,000 through Dublin-based sales agent Jill Kennedy. The price will include electrical appliances, tiled floors and air-conditioning, which converts to central heating in the winter.

Marbella has attracted a large number of Irish buyers because it is easy to get to, there is good golf in the area, and it's familiar territory for holidays. Massive financial investment has improved the infrastructure there in recent years and apartment developments are mushrooming.

The letting potential for Spanish apartments is strong and the season is longer - from May till October. If, like at Marbella and Puerto Banus, the complex is near a golf course, so much the better - there is a good chance it can be let in the off-season as well.

The boom in overseas property has dampened down the demand for holiday homes and investments at home. According to Simon Ensor, holiday home sales in Ireland peaked in 1998, after three strong years fuelled by Section 23 tax incentives in Irish seaside resorts.

Now, with the advent of monetary union and fixed exchange rates across most of mainland Europe, the Irish have become more adventurous. Buying abroad has become fashionable, too, particularly with 30-something buyers who have enough disposable income to make a hefty deposit and buy flights throughout the year.

Many people buying property in Spain or Portugal, and as far afield as South Africa, have a dual agenda - a reasonably secure rental income and a warm bolthole for the drab winter months. A few move permanently abroad, especially to France and Spain, where good communications makes working from home via the Internet very possible.

Price is a major consideration. With two-bedroom apartments in sunny Nerja available for £80,000, many are tempted. People are increasingly shy of investing their nest egg at home, particularly in Dublin where there is little to be had for under £120,000. And there is always the inducement for retired buyers of spending the winter months in the sun.

Such is the demand in Spain's newly dubbed "golden mile", between Marbella and fashionable Puerto Banus, that people are buying apartments and villas off plans two or three years ahead and there is a shortage of secondhand properties for an instant place in the sun.

The advantage of buying ahead is that the property should increase in value during the two year wait with growth of around 10 per cent per year anticipated, according to Ronan O'Driscoll of Hamilton Osborne King. The agency has sold 200 foreign properties already this year to Irish buyers - and Christmas is coming.

The golf market is an added bonus for investors, providing rental income out of season. With about 42 golf courses within reach of Marbella a property does not necessarily have to be built on the edge of a fairway to rent out for golfing weekends in low season.

Jill Kennedy, is forecasting that west of Marbella, between San Pedro and Estepona, is yet another "golden mile" and will "settle well" in a few years. Prices have risen. A year ago, you could buy a two-bedroom apartment around Marbella for £75,000. Expect to pay from £125,000 upwards should you decide to splash out in the new year. Another big plus for Irish buyers is that it is easy and relatively cheap to fly to southern Spain. Flights cost about £200 return on a seat-only basis with the charter companies. Cityjet operates a scheduled service three days a week to Malaga, but this is more expensive. One of the attractions of Spain is the relatively easy access to mortgage finance. This is organised on the Spanish side by the selling agent and the document requirements are roughly the same as here - ie proof of income etc. According to Jill Kennedy, the amount that can be borrowed is usually 70 per cent for new property and 60 per cent for second-hand.

In Spain, the buyer takes over their own portion of an existing mortgage taken out by the developer. Conveyancing, arranging insurance and working out maintenance costs is carried out by a local solicitor. Antonio Mourenza, of Marbella legal company Carretero Abojodos, says the proportion of Irish people buying here is "unbelievable".

Conveyancing costs and taxes come to about 10 per cent of the purchase price in Spain and France and agents' fees are often (but not in every case) included. Running costs, one of the major concerns of people buying abroad, averages about £2,000 a year for a £100,000 apartment including insurance, refuse collection and electricity.

Documents are in Spanish but the correspondence is in English and many buyers complete the deal entirely by post, according to Mr Mourenza. Irish people are "muy simpatico" and easy to deal with, he says.

More adventurous buyers have been taking a chance on property in South Africa where the market is beginning to recover from many years in the doldrums. Hamilton Osborne King has a niche market in South African coastal property, selling mainly to buyers who are familiar with this region. You can buy a topclass two-bedroom apartment overlooking the sea in the Capetown area for £70,000. Rental potential is uncertain but it is an unbeatable holiday destination if you don't mind the long journey.

Places to watch out for in the new year are Portugal, which is set to benefit from massive EU funding in the coming years, and France - especially Paris, where property prices are also rising, having been depressed for much of the 1990s. A Parisian studio apartment not far from the Seine can be bought for as low as £70,000.