Tag Archives: france
More British buyers interested in property in Italy, research suggests
Favourable exchange rates have led to more potential British buyers looking at the Italian property market and they are also considering more expensive houses, it is claimed. The value of the Italian real estate for which the British have made requests has almost doubled, up 90%, in the last year, according to research from Gate-Away, an online real estate portal that promotes Italian properties to overseas buyers. If in the first quarter of 2014 the average value was €190,000 but in the first three months of this year it was €324,000. The number of requests from the United Kingdom has also increased strongly, up 87.5% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. The UK is still the country which generates the highest number of requests with 17.6% of the total, ahead of the United States at 14.2% and France at 9.3%. This is set to continue, the firm says, as the current favourable exchange rate allows the same Sterling budget to stretch to properties which have a much higher value in Euros compared to last year. Requests from the United Kingdom for properties under €100,000 fell from 45% in the first quarter of 2014 to 39% in the first quarter of 2015, contrary to what happened with regard to buildings above €500,000, demand for which rose from 4.9% to 10.7%. ‘The average value of the Italian properties sought by the British has grown tremendously in this first quarter, and even beyond the depreciation of the Euro against the pound,’ said Simone Rossi, commercial director of Gate-Away. ‘More and more Brits that ever are being driven by the favourable economic climate and are finding that the Italian real estate market is far from inaccessible and beginning to consider the idea of buying a house in Italy very seriously,’ added Rossi. The research also shows that after years of unchallenged domination by Tuscany, in the first quarter Puglia topped the list of locations most desired by British buyers with 13.9% of total requests, just ahead of Tuscany at 11.8%, Piedmont at 9.6%, Abruzzo at 9.4% and Liguria at 9.3% of the requests. Some 80% of the requests by the United Kingdom were for individual houses and 20% for apartments. Some 55.7% of the requests are for properties which are already habitable and 20% for property to be restored, which confirms that the English have a preference for this particular type of investment abroad. Continue reading
House prices fell in most regions in France in 2014
House prices in regional France continued to fall in 2014, but there are considerable variations, according to figures from estate agents. The annual review from the FNAIM, the national association of French estate agents, says that house prices fell by an average of 1.5% in 2014, but with significant variations across the country. Picardy led the way with price rises of 3.5%, Lower Normandy saw prices rise by 1.2%, Poitou-Charentes by 1%, Languedoc-Roussillon by 0.9%, Auvergne by 0.8% and Brittany by 0.4%. Elsewhere prices fell, most notably by 5.3% in Nord pas de Calais, by 5.1% in Limousin, by 4.9% in Upper Normandy, by 4.8% in Franche Comte, and by 4.3% in Champagne Ardennes. Although overall the FNAIM report says that activity levels remained broadly the same as that for 2013 at around 720,000 sales, volumes were only maintained due to continued strong activity in the main cities and tourist areas of the country. In many smaller towns and rural areas sales were substantially down. The differences have also deepened between the best and worst properties, with buyers taking their time to find the right property. Properties with substantial defects or other unfavourable characteristics remained unsold. In addition, in the more expensive areas of the country it was smaller properties that sold over larger homes, one reason, it seems, why activity levels were maintained. While the FNAIM data is taken as the most reliable, other national agents have also published annual figures which all show prices falling on a national basis but which differ somewhat on a regional level. Century 21’s annual review put the average fall in property prices at 2.8%. The data shows only one region with rising prices, Limousin with growth of 3.7%. Everywhere else show falling prices, most notably a decline of 7.4% in Languedoc Roussillon, a fall of 7% in Lorraine and 6.7% in Poitou Charentes. According to the Laforet group of estate agents there was a fall of 3% in regional prices outside of Paris with prices down across the board led by a fall of 5.7% in Limousin, 5.4% in Picardy, 5% in Poitou Charentes and 4% in Midi Pyrenees. Such is the lack of alignment in the regional figures between the agents, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the trend continues downwards. The notaires have yet to publish their analysis of 2014, but for the third quarter the average annualised national price fall was still under 1%. The FNAIM believes that prices will continue to fall this year. It is predicting average falls of between 2% to 3% in 2015 and this in similar to other predictions from individual chains of estate agents. It means that prices are on average at the same levels they were in 2007. But 2015 could see more overseas buyers coming back to the French market, especially as average interest rates are now around 2.5% with some firms predicting they could fall further to 2%, making it cheaper for… Continue reading
Home movers in the UK increased in 2014 but well below recent highs
Last year there was an 8% rise in the number of home movers, the highest annual total since 2007 but still little more than half the average between 2004 and 2007, new data shows. The research from Lloyds Bank also shows that the average deposit put down by a home mover in 2014 was £83,302 and stamp duty changes saved the average home owner nearly £5,000. The data also shows that the number of home movers in 2014 was 16% higher than in 2009 at the depth of the recent housing market recession. However, despite the pick-up in recent years, the number of home movers last year was still less than half the all-time high recorded in 2004 of 886,700 and just over half the average during between 2004 and 2007. First time buyer numbers have risen significantly quicker than home movers over the last few years. As a result, home movers have declined as a proportion of all new mortgage financed home purchasers from 71% in 2004 to 54% in 2014. Since 2009, the average price paid by a home mover has grown by 26% from £199,645 to £252,064 in 2014, an increase of £52,418, equivalent to a monthly rise of £874. Home mover property prices increased by 9% in 2014. The average deposit put down by a home mover in 2014 was £83,302, some 9% higher than in 2013 when it was £76,739. This equates to 33% of the average price paid by home movers of £252,064. Regionally, home movers in London put down the largest average deposit of £166,265, some 35% of the average property value of £480,416. This is more than four times the average deposit put down by home movers in Northern Ireland at £40,128, the lowest in the UK. Home movers in the South West put down the largest average deposit in percentage terms at 36%. The report says that the recent changes to the stamp duty system have saved the average home mover £4,958, reducing the tax bill for the average home mover property of £252,064 from £7,561 to £2,603. ‘House price rises over the past 12 months have enabled more homeowners to make the next move on the housing ladder. The resulting higher levels of equity in their property are providing homeowners with more funds to finance the purchase of their next home,’ said Andy Hulme, Lloyds Bank mortgages director. ‘A steady rise in property values in 2015 should further ease the constraint on many of those who bought their first home around the peak of the market in 2006 and 2007, enabling more of them to become second steppers,’ he added. The research also shows that second steppers, those looking to get on the second rung of the housing ladder, have benefitted. Higher house prices have increased the equity of those still living in their first homes enabling more of those who previously had either very low or negative levels of equity to make their first home… Continue reading
