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France still holding up but looking inland

2nd June 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

The French property market has been a frequent subject of buyer interest of late, as one of the very few established markets which has held up well under the credit crunch. While Spain has struggled and Portugal - at least in areas such as the Silver Coast - is perhaps still an emerging market, the old favourite across the Channel has held fairly firm.

However, noted the Times recently, the nature of UK investment in property in France has changed. It noted that the Cote D'Azur and Provence remain areas for consideration, but stated that Russian investors are now the biggest single group of overseas buyers.

As a result, the paper suggested, those looking for the best price may now be better off looking inland as the new red army descends on the coast. Stuart Baldock, manager of the Riviera branch of property portal Property Vision, told the paper: "People are edging westward, away from the overcrowded and expensive Cote d'Azur, in search of something more French."

The paper noted that while the rising value of the euro against sterling might deter some, it has had a positive effect in some cases, due to speculative investors being driven away and local sellers being urged to price themselves more realistically when selling to Britons.

Yet gains are still there to be made in many places, according to French property specialist firm VEF. The company listed Paris and Nice as being two locations where the annual rate of price growth has been above ten per cent over the past eight years, with some districts as high as 16 per cent.

In addition to this, VEF stated that Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier and Toulouse also offered good growth in value and healthy rental yields in the lettings market.

Thus there remains, it seems, good reason to buy in France. In the meantime, those who do own properties there will be obliged to have an electrical survey done from January 1st 2009, unless their electrical system is less than 15 years old, reports Homes Worldwide.

While this may seem awkward for British property owners looking to sell, the assessment of the safety and state of repair of circuits, plug sockets and wiring will mean that anyone looking to buy a property can negotiate the price downwards if it is shown that new work needs to be done, the website points out. So for those buying in France, it will soon be the case that one potential problem with a property purchase will either be ruled out or brought to attention before any contracts are signed and money handed over.

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