Akron, OH (1888PressRelease)
October 24, 2007 - British investors looking to buy property in Europe have done so in many locations, with the list seemingly lengthening every year. But recent surveys have consistently confirmed one pattern; that Spain property
remains the most popular location and France property the second most popular.
Until now, that is. A poll by Country Life magazine has shown that those wishing to buy overseas, for whatever reason, are increasingly looking to France. Last week the publication revealed the results of its poll, which showed that 31 per cent of its readers who have a second home bought it in France, compared with 26 per cent in Spain and the Balearics.
Furthermore, the magazine added, among those looking to buy in the future the gap was greater still, with 34 per cent preferring Gallic culture to Iberian sunshine.
However, the evidence falls short of confirming a shift in the buy-to-let market. Just three per cent of those polled were looking to purchase a buy-to-let property, with the majority of readers seeking a retirement home.
Yet one may well wonder if such a development will take place in the future. Many are agreed that the notion of a Spanish property market collapse was an exaggerated response to the market correction, which arrived this year after five boom years. For instance, Martin Dell, managing director of property portal Kyero.com, told equitypropertyportfolios.co.uk recently that prices "bottomed out" in Spain last winter. But what of the prospects for France to shoot ahead?
Partly, of course, much will depend on the economy, not least legal reforms being made by president Nicolas Sarkozy, who since his election victory earlier this year has set out a series of economic plans at the heart of which lies a desire to turn France into a nation of property owners.
How successful these reforms will be is of course unknown at this early stage. But what is known is that there is high demand for property in certain parts of France.
One obvious area is Paris. As with London and other capital cities, the desire to have a plush pad in the heart if the city is widely shared. Cecil Jones, president of Just French Sales, a US-based estate agency specialising in French property, told nuwire investor that demand was going up in this area, driven partly by investors from countries such as the Russia, China and India.
He stated: "There's going to be an increasing demand in Paris for apartments in the second-tier locations because there is just a finite number of good apartments in those parts of Paris that are increasingly in demand and there's a gentrification process going on in Paris that's going to expand the number of good apartments."
At the same time, Mr Jones said, there were many opportunities for buy-to-let, describing this market as "unsurpassed by any other country" and listing attractive Paris suburbs, the Cote D'Azur, Provence and the Alps as hotspots.
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