"Never been a better time" to buy French property
04 August 2015 - 2:50AM
Property
There has "never been a better time" to buy French
property, according to estate agents. The strong pound and weak
euro are opening up a range of affordable opportunities for buyers,
notes EstateNetFrance.com. Indeed, the rouble’s severe plunge of 72
per cent against the euro between April and December 2014 has seen
wealthy Russian buyers disappear in France’s hotspots, such as the
Riviera. Now, British buyers are taking advantage of their
increased spending power to step into the gap."The exodus of
Russian and Ukrainian residents on the Côte d’Azur in the last year
or so has opened up a whole new set of property opportunities for
both investors and second home buyers alike," explains the agency.
"As a consequence, other nationalities, particularly the British,
are starting to snap up the many high end bargains before the next
influx of new money arrives."Property sales in France to British
buyers increased by 33 per cent last year, as they cashed in on a
strong exchange rate and falling prices.The
OverseasGuidesCompany.com has seen demand for French property
increase too. The country accounted for 22.5 per cent of all
enquiries, behind Spain - the most popular eurozone destination -
but enquiries for the French buying guide surged 25 per cent in the
second quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.The
favourable exchange rates have arrived hot on the heels of record
low mortgage rates, which have also fuelled demand in the last 12
months. Mortgage broker French Private Finance says the market has
performed "exceptionally well" in the first half of 2015."Whilst
financing options and underwriting criteria have become stricter
over the past months due to the surge in lending, it is worth
pointing out that once we take on a validated application, we have
seen a 95% success rate so far this year," comments John Luky
Busby, Private Clients Director.Busby highlights Paris and the Alps
as popular hotspots alongside the south coast, with around €100m
worth of loans either completed or to be completed by the end of
the year. "We are looking forward to an equally busy second half of
the year as French banks try to get their house in order during the
August period in order to cope with the new dynamic of increased
applications and with the alpine season around the corner," he
adds.
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