Property prices in Normandy area

[SteveyGee]

Have property prices started to move down yet ? Following a recent visit to France were surprised at how much people are asking for their properties (even though in comparison to the UK you are still getting a lot for your money). We noticed that some properties have been on the market for some time as well.

It would seem that property values have been pushed upwards by the ability of English people to buy relatively cheaper property in France. However property is not selling so easily in the UK now. Is this not having a knock on effect on the French market ?

Where is the best place to look for gite complexes - say 4 gites plus a farmhouse ?

 

 

 

[Monika]

[quote]Have property prices started to move down yet ? Following a recent visit to France were surprised at how much people are asking for their properties (even though in comparison to the UK you are still ...[/quote]

I think you are right, things have started to slow down in France, and we have it from the horses mouth, i.e. we met our immobilier who works in two offices in Normandy. However he said that this concerns mainly overpriced properties, so now comes the time again when you can make an offer.

When we bought in 2003 things were different, and you had no chance if you did not offer full price. Regards your requirement have a look at: www.mancheimmobilier.fr. They have 4 offices in Normandy and a huge portfolio which is kept up to date.

[Val50]

From first hand experience I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by how much we sold our farmhouse for recently.  We have lived here in Normandy for 4 years now, bought a bit of a wreck, spent about 30K doing it up. We sold it within 3 weeks of it being on the market, to the second couple who came to view it (they are French as well), for full asking price, which was almost 3 times what we paid for it back in 2001!  Have been having agents phoning constantly asking if it is still for sale as they (supposedly) have buyers looking for property like ours.  So, from our experience wouldn't say the property market has slowed down that much around here - as long as the property is priced right they are still selling.

[Coco]

I keep thinking it's slowing down, then it doesn't.  We know of three Brit-owned properties round here that were on sale from January this year.  None had sold by the end of July and I expected that all three would have to drop their price.  However, all three have sold (at their full asking price) in the last 3 months (2 to local French buyers).   Some may think that's slowing down, and I suppose compared to the peak of around 2003/2004 it may be the case, when houses were selling almost as quickly as in the UK.  However, at the time we bought (1999) it was perfectly normal for a French house to be on the market for over a year (and at least 6 months) before selling.  So it seems to me that we have just reverted to the same state that things were before the little boom.  I certainly don't think that the market has "crashed" but I suppose, as some people think, if a lot of Brits decide to sell up and return to the UK, there are so many in this area now, that it could create a bit of a crash and people may have to wait a lot longer to sell their properties.

[Percyatok]

I don't think prices will move down much, the market always used to be much slower than in the UK - taking six months to sell a house was nothing unusual for anything that wasn't immaculate (ie finished to English "Country Living" standards, which is not the case with what most immobiliers will try to sell as "fully renovated") so the French are used to waiting to get their money.

The French housing boom is now fuelled not by Brits as much by cheap Euro mortgages encouraging the French to take on levels of borrowing which are quite normal by UK standards but which were unheard of in France until recently. France is in the odd position of having a booming housing market whilst the rest of the economy is pretty stagnant, but when Maggie started selling council houses in the 880s one thing led to another, for better or worse, and I have a feeling that the hhousingboom in France may eventually have similar effects. Share prices are starting to rise too - the bubble may burst of course, but I wouldn't be expecting any bargains any time soon.

The two houses near us which have changed hands recently are being renovated by French owner-occupiers, who are putting money into the local artisan economy - finding roofers, plumbers etc who have time to take on little jobs keeps getting harder....

Percyatok.