Country: France; France; Provence; Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur
The global credit crunch has had less of an impact on France, compared to the UK, Germany and Spain. Knight Frank reported in its most recent Global House Price Index that prices of France property increased by 3.2 per cent between Q3 07 and Q3 08. This is slower growth than the previous year though, when prices increased by 6.8 per cent.
Properties along the Mediterranean coast in southern France have been in demand from foreign buyers for centuries and if proof were needed that things have not changed, the World's most expensive property, including 20 acres of gardens, was bought on the Cote d’Azur, near Cap Ferrat, in August this year for €500 million!
Unless you are a Russian billionaire, this may be a couple of million over your budget, but there are still some great deals to be had in the South of France, especially in the eastern part of the coast, including the cities of Cannes, Nice and Marseille.
This area, known as ‘Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur’ (PACA) is one of the most densely populated areas of France with 4.8 million people. Of the three cities, Marseille is the largest with a population of over 800,000 but there are an extra 1 million inhabitants if you include the suburbs.
The region is home to many technological industries and also attracts over 34 million tourists a year. According to the Comite Regional de Tourisme, almost 7 million passengers fly into Marseille each year and over 10 million fly into Nice, which was one of the first destinations to benefit from the arrival of budget airlines. The entire region is also well served by the French high-speed rail network, which explains why 80 per cent of tourists are French, and fast trains from Paris to Nice will start in 2010.
From the three main cities, the highest rental yields can be achieved from property in Marseille, according to the latest figures available from the French National Estate Agents Federation (FNAIM), where average prices are around £2,400 per square metre and yields 5 per cent. This compares favourably to property in Nice (£3,200 and 4.2 per cent) and property in Cannes (£3,700 and 3.75 per cent).
UK buyers can still get 85 per cent LTV mortgages and both euro interest/mortgage rates and the value of the euro, are expected to fall during 2009, which would make property in these popular cities seem even cheaper over the next six to12 months.
First published in February 2009.Some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published. Homes Overseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and financial advise from a qualified professional.
See Also: France
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Type: Apartment
Exceptional low risk investment with low entry costs and government backed Leaseback for 11 years and 19.6% VAT rebate from the developer making the initial investment only €10,400
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Exceptional low risk investment with low entry costs and government backed Leaseback for 11 years and 19.
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