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Turning the tide on property investment in France

23rd June 2009 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

"Je ne Regrette Rien" was one of the famous songs associated with French icon Edith Piaf, but having no regrets about a property in France is what many investors will be hoping for.

As it happens, a former home of the singer in Provence is currently owned by a British couple, the Daily Telegraph has revealed. But all that is about to change as Rupert and Sophie Scott, who have lived there for six years and carried out several renovations and extensions, plan to move back to Britain.

The reason the couple are returning is not because of any regrets, but because their son is due to start a new school in the autumn. This sort of lifestyle is normal, Charles Weston-Baker of Savills noted, commenting: "They move to France when their children are young and impressionable, so they can learn the language and the culture. After five or six years, they usually return to Britain."

However, said Stuart Baldock of buying agent Property Vision, at the moment the cycle is not quite working. Britons are heading back home and not being replaced.

Yet is this a sign that the French market is dying on its feet, or at least in a lull where buyers are being put off due, as Mr Baldock suggested, by falling prices and the weak pound? The paper's verdict was that any such trend is likely to be short-lived, with the country's popularity remaining the same and the pound starting to gain strength.

Moreover, Mr Scott added: "At the end of the day, the tax is still cheaper and you get more house and land for your money."

So there were no regrets for Mr Scott and buyers should not have any, according to the editor of French Property News Karen Tait. Speaking recently as the magazine's publishers Archant announced a new French property exhibition to be held at Olympia in London in September, she suggested that the time is in fact just right to look across the channel.

"Many French properties have come down in price significantly over recent months, more than outweighing any exchange rate difficulties - there are some real bargains out there for anyone househunting in France at the moment. And as the pound starts to rally against the euro, French property can only represent even better value," Ms Tait commented.

So if there has been one-way traffic in property movement between Britain and France recently, it may just be that investors will discover for themselves that now is a good time to turn the tide. It may even be that those who miss the chance will end up regretting rather a lot.

This is a press release by Assetz also available at http://press.assetz.co.uk/articles/4850.html. Alternatively, please see our full press release archive.

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