Tag Archives: france
Ski property market in French Alps likely to be boosted by low interest rates
With snow finally arriving across the French Alps a flurry of interest is expected in ski property, especially since interest rates offered by lenders in France are so low. Rates below 3% were available in 2014 and the beginning of 2015 may herald even lower rates in France as the long term outlook for growth in Europe remains weak, according to John Busby, private clients director of French Private Finance. He pointed out that the TEC 10 index dropped below 1% for the first time in December, hitting 0.86%. ‘It is worth stressing again that this is now the rate investors will receive when lending to the French Government for a 10 year period. Hopefully this drop will continue to make it through to retail mortgage rates and so buyers will continue to benefit, said Busby. He also pointed out that it seems that the controversial social charges of 15.5% which were added to French capital gains and rental income tax are in fact illegal under European law and many people who sold a property during 2014 are now making cases to reclaim the tax which they have overpaid. ‘This is also reassuring news for those looking to buy over the busy ski property season,’ added Busby. According to Francois Marchand, general manager at Erna Low Property, the ever lower interest rates offered by the French Banks and a weakening Euro versus the Sterling has triggered earlier property searching by clients in the French Alps. ‘Enquiries from savvy investors are up 20% year on year since the end of the summer. Site visits have been taking place since the beginning of September,’ he said. He explained that over the past 12 months, many exciting new developments have appeared in the French Alps with a few new hot spots for investors for example Châtel, part of the Portes du Soleil ski area. Erna Low Property has sourced a few new property developments ready for this ski season or for next December 2015 with leaseback options. Les Gets, also part of the Portes du Soleil and a short drive from Geneva Airport, having been short of new property developments for sale for a few years, due to a need to upgrade the draining systems and water supplies, now has a greater variety of new properties for sale. Tignes les Brevieres has long been popular for its flexible leaseback investment with the British market, with direct access to the world renowned Espace Killy ski domain and in the same ski area, La Plagne has a new leaseback property investment, ski-in ski-out, of fully furnished apartments ready in December 2016. ‘Over the past two years, we have experienced a great increase in activity levels, the winter season has started in the middle of summer for us, which is something we last saw in 2008,’ said James Ross, sales manager at Erna Low Property . ‘It appears that the French Alps is enjoying a renaissance as a favourite… Continue reading
Paris office market see strong year despite poor economic conditions
Despite the difficult economic background in France, the Paris office market has turned in a strong performance over the first nine months of this year, according to a new report from Knight Frank. Office take up increased by 13.2% and investment volumes rebounding by 39% compared to the same period in 2013, the report shows. Occupier take-up reached 1.4 million square meters in the first nine months of 2014 and is expected to reach two million square meters for this year as a whole. The increase has been driven by a number of significant deals over 5,000 square meters to major corporates such as KPMG and L’Oreal. The overall office vacancy rate has stabilised and stood at 7.2% at the end of the third quarter, although there is a disparity between the city’s different submarkets. Vacancy rates in La Défense and Western Crescent are at 11%, while in the CBD the vacancy rate is less than 6%. The report suggests that the office investment market remains buoyant and somewhat decoupled from the leasing market, with the current strong interest in trophy assets expected to continue. Transaction volumes for 2014 look set to reach their highest since the peak of 2007, having surpassed €11 billion in the first nine months. With a strong final quarter in prospect, deal volumes for 2014 as a whole are expected to end up in the region of €15 billion. International investors remain very active in the market and are showing interest in higher-yielding assets outside the core, as well as prime opportunities. ‘The Paris office market has bucked the wider economic backdrop and, while the economic outlook remains somewhat uncertain, the recently released positive GDP figures for quarter three will provide a boost for both occupiers and investors as we move towards the year end,’ said Darren Yates, head of global capital markets research, Knight Frank. According to Luke Condon, partner, Knight Frank Paris, the size and on-going resilience and stability of the Paris occupier market provides comfort to investors, as demonstrated by the increasing proportion of international capital attracted to the market. ‘This, coupled with improved financing conditions, has also led to significantly improved demand for non-core products. Market sentiment is positive but more product is required to satisfy demand,’ he added. Continue reading
Next year looking optimistic for British buyers looking for dream home abroad
Interest from British buyers looking for property abroad in 2014 was driven by the strength of the pound against the euro and this continues to be the case, according to a new outlook report. It has been a year of contrasting halves with a surprisingly busy January followed by a difficult few months. The market only really picked up in May and June, says the report from Home Hunts which specialises in finding luxury homes and investment properties throughout France, Monaco, Geneva, London and New York. The firm is cautiously optimistic about 2015 and believes that the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices. ‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts. ‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added. For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ explained Swannie. But the market slowed. In France it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case. ‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as all over Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie pointed out. He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a 'deal'. For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price. The properties selling at the moment are those which have either been put on the market very recently… Continue reading
