| Eastern Europe might be making the headlines, but the French property market is quietly booming. Mark Faithfull looks at some hot moves  All the European property news might be about popping Spanish bubbles, and the Eastern promise of Croatia and Estonia Bulgaria – ideal for skiers and sun seekers – but France has quietly reaffirmed itself as a property hotspot. According to UK-based business and financial advisor Grant Thornton, the country remains second on the list of home-buying destinations for Europe’s most acquisitive second-home nation, Britain, with almost one in five UK overseas home buyers settling there. Although the Cote d’Azur remains a little pricey, Northern Normandy has become increasingly popular, while Languedoc-Roussillon, the Dordogne and Limousin have been opened up by budget airlines. The Brits have been followed in by German, Dutch and Irish investors, and areas such as Alsace, Massif Central and Seine et Marne have also shown significant price rises.
It is Normandy and in particular Upper Normandy that have really taken off, however. Towns and villages around the Upper Normandy Seine Valley remain very popular with UK buyers due to their proximity to the ports at Le Havre and Dieppe, and the airport at Rouen. Motorways linking Normandy to Paris are also an important factor, while yet-to-be-discovered villages such as Caudebec-en-Caux, St-Gilles-de-Crétot and Allouville-Bellefosse represent prime investment opportunities. No-frills airlines continue to drive price growth throughout France. The price and rental premium for properties located near airports served by low-cost airlines is significantly higher than equivalent properties within the same distance of an airport without a low-cost carrier, according to Savills Research. It polled 12,000 foreign owners of European property. Its research also showed that the average price of such properties is 39% higher. Properties served by low-cost airlines also had higher average rents – as much as 30%! “The potential to charge higher weekly rents is enhanced by low-cost airlines; because the travel costs are lower, holiday makers are willing to pay higher weekly rents for a holiday property,” explains Jacqui Daly of Savills Research. “This is clearly important to investors, as these properties are higher yielding assets.” France has also recently gone on a charm offensive in an attempt to sell the attractions of a French holiday to foreigners who may not have previously considered a vacation there. In Japan, the French government’s tourist office, Maison de la France, is running a campaign alongside iconic French companies such as Peugeot and wine makers from the Cotes du Rhone. Tourists from the Middle East are also being targeted in a campaign which has taken in Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan in an effort to show off the country’s attractions. |