Latest news: property predictions in France 2008
It still makes financial sense to buy in France, that’s according to the latest market report from leading French property agents, VEF UK. ‘Average property prices in France are 48 per cent less than in London and the southeast and properties in the French capital or down in the south are still 28 per cent cheaper’, confirms Trisha Mason, managing director of VEF UK.
Brits continue to move to France and many French agents are confident the trend looks set to continue through 2008 but where should those yet to make a purchase be looking now? When it comes to location, Trisha Mason highlights several areas of France where buyers should get in quick: ‘We have seen a huge increase in interest in Burgundy, Drôme and Brittany due in part to the good TGV links; Languedoc is popular with commuters due to a combination of good transport links and a southern climate; Dordogne remains a favourite with 33 per cent of potential buyers looking to buy in this department and neighbouring Lot-et-Garonne and southern Limousin; Auvergne, Pas-de-Calais and Mayenne-Loire all saw increased interest in 2007 and we anticipate that this will continue into 2008 due to property value and accessibility; finally, Var remains a firm favourite, moving away from the Côte-d’Azur.’
When it comes to the types of properties Brits are interested in, Trisha Mason observes that stone properties continue to outperform newer properties but adds that during 2007 there was a marked growth in the amount of purchasers buying properties less than 50 years old. With this in mind, Trevor Leggett from Leggett Immobilier head office in Dordogne advises that 2008 is the time to buy building land. ‘We know that the carte communale – the regulation whereby communes in France set the land planning for town and village expansion areas – has now been proposed for 80 per cent of the communes in France,’ he explains. ‘Once these proposals are accepted, they cannot be modified for ten years.’
If you wish to buy property outright rather than building plots, he maintains there are still bargains to be had but that you need to know where to look. ‘Houses in remote locations and true renovations are becoming harder to find at good prices. Instead, the best bargains are to be found in the heart of French towns and villages’.
Both VEF’s Trisha Mason and Penny Zoldan of Latitudes French Property Agents foresee a slow and gradual rise in house prices during 2008; both predict there will be more people buying in France this year. Penny explains: ‘The market is stable with lower mortgage rates and [buying property in France is] a good way to spread the risk in a difficult financial market’.
The interest in buying property in France continues in spite of competition from emerging property markets in other countries. Penny Zoldan comments: ‘It became clear [in 2007] that owning property in France is a much safer bet than in many of the emerging markets where properties had been offered at low prices but with no hope of achieving a resale when the time comes.’
Ian McDonald, Head of International Clients for Barclays in France is also confident, commenting prior to the publication of any official statistics from the bank: ‘As we increase our branch network in France and our ‘Buying Abroad’ initiative in the UK, we saw an increase in mortgage business with Brits buying in France in 2007’, he reports. ‘2008 is likely to see a continuation of these trends and will be even more sensitive to changes in UK consumer confidence’.
Industry figureheads remain positive and upbeat for the year ahead and, as Penny Zoldan says, there’s no time like the present: ‘With more and more new destinations of the low-cost airlines, it is an excellent time to make a trip to one of these where prices may not have risen too much as yet. Going to view and buy early in the year means that flights, ferries and hotels are cheaper and that your property can be ready for use or rental in the high season.’