French Property

Is it time to sell your property in France?

By FranceInLondon
05/05/2012

Amongst the many scare-mongering stories currently circulating about France under a Hollande presidency, the one which will strike most fear into Brit second-home owners is the prediction of a collapse in property prices.

The consultancy PrimeView, quoted recently in the UK press, describes the market as a ‘gigantic bubble’ , pointing out that prices across France have jumped 160% since 1998 although household incomes are up by only 35% over the same period. Paris has overtaken New York to become the world’s third costliest city at 18,000 euros (£14,600) per square metre. PrimeView fear a 40% fall in prices over the next 10 years.

Not all commentators are quite so gloomy but the view that the trend is downwards is almost unanimous. Standard & Poor’s, for example, is telling investors that a 15% fall is likely, and Credit Agricole expects a gradual slide in prices to last until 2016, with a 12% fall in store for 2012.

So, time to sell ?  It would not be the first time that so-called expert commentators call the market wrong. The number of transactions completed in the current year to date is, however, already significantly down on last year which does not appear to bode well for prices.  

From a buyer’s perspective, maybe waiting until 2013 before committing to that dream home in France might be the sensible option.