There was an article in Britain’s “Daily Mail” yesterday titled “36 Reasons to Say Goodbye to Britain and One to Say Bonjour to Fabulous France.” The newspaper cited the US travel magazine, “International Living,” which compiled a list (called “The Quality of Life League”) that ranked 191 countries using nine criteria: cost of living, climate, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, and safety. France was number 1; the US was number 5; Britain was number 37 (sharing this ranking with Cyprus, Ecuador, Greece, Iceland, and Lithuania). Even more discouraging for the British, it seems, is that they were bested by Bulgaria, Panama, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. France scored so high because of its culture, climate, high-speed TGV trains, ample supply of hospital beds, ski resorts, beaches, and relatively low cost of living.Real estate is very hot in France and has been for the past several years—not just with the British but with the Americans as well. Britons were asked in a recent survey about their desire to move to France. Their aim, the survey found, is to recapture the gentler lifestyle, sense of community, old-fashioned values, and village markets that typified Britain in the 1950s. With the average cost of a home in England now about $200,000 and with good-sized equities in their homes, many Britons can afford to look outside of England for cheaper holiday or retirement homes and are buying those in France. Because of low deposit requirements, world-wide appeal as a holiday destination, and supposedly a straightforward purchase process, France continues to be a favorite for the British investor over the up-and-coming hotspots in the Eastern bloc.
This leaves some parts of France becoming “very British.” One of the ladies in the conversation group I attended a couple of weeks ago said not to go to Normandy if you wanted to feel “French,” for example. Normandy, which is already referred to as Paris’ 21st arrondissement, and some parts of Provence are also seeing heavy influx. According to the 1/25/07 French Property Insider newsletter that I receive, the northwest (Brittany) and south (Languedoc-Pyrenees) regions of France are set to experience significant property growth in 2007. These regions are already popular with the British for holiday homes and are relatively inexpensive compared to those on the French Riviera. All this is expected to change in 2007, however, because of the growing demand.
So, what about a small apartment in Paris? Very expensive. The average size is slightly less than 538 square feet (50 square meters); my studio is probably half of that. And I suspect that my LL paid over 200,000 euros plus renovation costs; real estate values in the Marais (area that I'm in) have tripled in the past 10 years. I don't know if any of the listings in this picture of the local real estate office window are readable but one on my street is 487,000 euros for 65 square meters and another one down the block is 299,000 euros for 36 square meters. Unbelievable. But the draw is the very active rental market here. France, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, receives more than 75 million international visitors each year—plus the French themselves typically prefer to vacation in France. Therefore, many people buy property and rent it out when they're not using it--supposedly providing a very good return on their initial investment not to mention the historically attractive appreciation rates of the property.
Because there is a shortage of short-term rental accommodations, the French government even offers investors and developers many incentives to invest in new properties (not existing ones) which are then leased back to management groups for rental to vacationers or students. But that’s way too much information to cover in this posting. I’m not trying to push French property, after all; I just find it tres interessant.
PS - There is no MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in France and an abundance of independent real estate agencies--4,000+ in Paris and 11,000 in France. This makes it very hard to find properties that meet your requirements. Additionally, inventory in each real estate office is normally limited to the properties available in that neighborhood; and there is a limited sharing of commissions among agencies. Really saleable properties are sold before the agency even has an opportunity to advertise them openly as there are so many ready buyers. To find these properties requires direct contact with the agencies and owners at the moment the properties go on the market.
