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France attracts first-time buyers

23rd July 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

First-time buyers have been hit by a number of barriers in the housing market in recent years, which has left many unable to take their first step onto the property ladder. Astronomic price rises in property over the last ten years have been pocketed by those already on the ladder and envied by those looking to make the biggest investment of their life. And as property prices have started to fall in recent months - according to Rightmove figures values slid by 1.8 per cent in June - the tightening of credit and withdrawal of 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgage products has kept would-be housebuyers renting. Buy-to-let investors have reaped the rewards of more renters and fewer buyers, but now it seems that first-time buyers are shunning the incorrigible property market in Britain for nearby France.

This is hardly surprising if you think about it, as buyers in France are promised a life in a warmer climes, with access to quality wine and superb cheese, and above all, more property for their money than those in England. Web services research assistant at Property Finder France Laura Sturgess commented on this emerging trend of first-time buyers crossing the Channel in search of affordable property, saying: "Whereas it used to be very much the retiring couple who were looking for somewhere nice to retire, now - with the property situation being what it is in this country - a lot of first-time buyers and younger couples are moving to France purely because it's cheaper and the quality of life is better."

In fact, figures from the Association of International Property Professionals have revealed that on average Brits spent £99,200 on French properties last year - an increase of just one per cent from the average of £98,166 spent in 2006. And 17 per cent of all foreign properties bought by Brits last year were in France. The increasing number of first-time buyers heading overseas will undoubtedly have an effect on property investors hoping to purchase property in France, so it might be wise to act quickly before the best French farmhouse bargains are snapped up.

But where are first-time buyers eager to live? It seems conurbations are more attractive than the idyllic rural life older couples are usually more interested in, with Ms Strugess commenting: "They're looking at the metropolitan areas - the centre of France, near Paris and around that area - rather than looking at the typical south of France [areas]." She advised investors to research the market thoroughly before buying, as a new breed of Brits head abroad in search of foreign property paradise.

This is a press release by Assetz also available at http://press.assetz.co.uk/articles/4294.html. Alternatively, please see our full press release archive.

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