Foreign Buyers Now Propping up the Market in France

Many wealthy people have left France Paris and London are well known as two of the most trendy cities in the world, but it now seems that the former is starting to mirror the latter in terms of a property market trend. French property has been in the doldrums ever since the financial worries that struck down the eurozone, but it is now the case that it is starting to see some of the same trends seen in London since 2008. In some areas of France, foreign buyers are completely propping up the sector, as they have been doing in London while the rest of the UK saw prices falling dramatically in the wake of the country's own financial crisis. Last year, the French Real Estate Federation (FNAIM)reported that prices across the whole of France fell by as much as 2.9 per cent, following on from the poor performance in 2012 when they were up by just 0.8 per cent. Low employment, fears that the wealthier were set to face a much higher tax band, dropping confidence and a lack of properties for sale meant the market became somewhat stale. One expert believes that the issue that has come to the fore has been the fact that many French buyers with money to spend have simply left the country to look elsewhere. Susie Hollands, founder of property agency Vingt Paris, told the Financial Times: “Many wealthy people have left France." However, she went on to add that an influx of other wealthy people from overseas has been positive. "That has stimulated a flood of interest because there are heritage properties coming on to the market which have never been sold before. I also think that Paris is the type of place which never goes out of fashion. Paris is undervalued compared to prime central London and I am starting to have investors say they are priced out of London.” Areas such as Île-de-France, the region which includes Paris, have actually seen price rises while France as a whole has been witnessing falls. In the area, prices rose by as much as 6.7 per cent since 2007 according to FNAIM, while Nord-Pas-de-Calais has witnessed rises of 3.7 per cent. In Paris alone, prices have gone up by more than 14 per cent since 2008. via:http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/france/property/news/foreign-buyers-now-propping-up-market-france_313091.html