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Opportunities in France

19th August 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

Those who buy in France do so for many reasons. Chief among them for UK buyers is to find a home for themselves, either as a second home or a permanent home to which they can emigrate.

But for buy-to-let investors, the country across the Channel provides quite a market, French Property News reports.

The portal stated that the fundamentals necessary for success are in place. In particular, that 40 per cent of the French rent their homes, this figure being added to by student and holiday lettings. This compares with owner occupancy levels of around 70 per cent in Britain and 80 per cent in Spain. The report added that while it is true that Mr Sarkozy is hoping to change all this and make the French a nation of property owners just like Britain, the reality is that this will take time.

Report author Peter-Danton de Rouffignac noted that, like in many countries, affordability issues are keeping people off the housing ladder, while over four-fifths of the market is made up of apartments in or near city centres. These can be let very quickly, a situation quite unlike some city centre apartments in Britain.

He commented: "The French rental market is extremely competitive (the right apartment can be let in one day) and can offer good returns for investors, sometimes renters themselves, seeking long-term security and possibly somewhere for themselves to live in retirement."

So for those seeking buy-to-let opportunities, the chances are there, with Mr de Rouffignac noting that commuting costs are generally keeping people in the city centres in older property rather than moving to new builds in the suburbs.

What is also true is that there are many variations in price between different property types in France, with some kinds not just fetching higher prices than others but some types enjoying price rises while others fall.

Reporting on this, VEF have noted that stone houses in the country make a good investment. In the Haute-Provence region, for instance, the average stone property is currently fetching €350,000 (£276,900), with properties under €180,000 very hard to find. All this, VEF notes, has come in a year when, despite the credit crunch, budgets have been twice those of 2007.

What such figures suggest is that across the French property market there are different kinds of investment that may offer opportunities. Lonely stone buildings in the country are architecturally the antithesis of new build modern constructions in the suburbs and geographically the opposite of apartments in city centres. But just as France has a variety of landscapes and climates, so investors can look around for a variety of different investment possibilities.

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