sueb Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hi all,We have eventually managed to sell our house in the UK (after 2 years of trying and a reduction of around 50k) with a view to purchasing a property in France. In the UK the market has stagnated and there just hasn't been any buyers coming through the doors yet alone anyone in a position to proceed. We sold the house subject to contract on 2 previous occasions, almost immediately at the asking price 2 years ago but this fell through due to the chain collapsing , again about a year later at a slight reduction which also fell through a few days before exchange (again problems with the chain) and eventually with a reduction to reflect the current market conditions. Regarding the price as you know in the UK properties are valued using the agents professional judgement and expertise as obviously they want to sell to be in a position to get their commission so it wasn't overpriced and we have always been willing to negotiate/reduce price we just had a problem finding a buyer as there weren't any around. We are now going to start looking for a suitable property in France but over the last two years since we've been looking, although prices have fallen here they seem to have increased in France. We will be renting so there is no hurry for us we will keep looking until we find a suitable property. I have been reading a very interesting debate on totalfrance.com under the French Property section about the property market movement in France with loads of interesting articles/reports etc and responses saying in some articles that prices are expected to fall by 30% in 2006 and by 70% by 2007. Also in FPN this month there was an article about somebody who has been trying to sell their property since last May, initially the notaire called out in May stated that they had been advised to reduce prices by 30% which the seller didn't accept, as time moved on the property was reduced until eventually after a year it was reduced by 100,000 euros which was a bigger reduction than the original 30% a year previously recommended by the notaire and it still hasn't sold!. My question for you all is in your opinion what is the property market currently doing over there. If we find a suitable property what sort of percentage reduction should we try to negotiate with the vendor without insulting them (we did view a property a year ago which met our requirements on at 2 different prices, local agents price was 40,000 less than price advertised on the internet aimed at selling houses to the Brits this was without any fees included?) but we were unable to buy as our property sale fell through at the last minute. This property is still on the market now, as far as I am aware, although with a different agent advertising through internet site aimed to sale to British again at the higher price. if we were still interested after another viewing and also looking to see what else is now available what do you think the best approach is regarding the price. I know it really depends on the position of the seller etc but from what I've seen and read prices seem to be currently over inflated in France and it looks as though they will fall significantley in the near future. Also as we have taken a knock here in the UK our funds are now much more limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leschenauds Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 It is about time some sanity prevailed in the UK house price market, you are wise I believe to get out before they start falling.Your first stop in searching for a french property should be through the Notaires website (www.notaires.fr). We have had nearly 40 UK families who have stayed at our campsite during the past 2 years who have bought in our area, on our advice, most of them have bought through the Notaire nd in a couple of cases over 3,000 Euros cheaper than the agents advertise with the added advantage that the Notaire has to be scrupulously honest and, if asked, will often advise if an offer is likely to be accepted. The discount culture is not like the UK, Some people will take an offer, some of the older ones will be insulted.Prices are continuing to rise steadily. Our campsite which we bought for £45K 5 years ago would probably sell now for £150K ( Nice house,ongoing business, good views and enough land). House and barn with a little land hasn't risen so steeply. Land is cheaper here than the UK and it is often cheaper to buy a plot and build a house rather than restoring a ramshackle place.www.leschenauds.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leschenauds Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 It is about time some sanity prevailed in the UK house price market, you are wise I believe to get out before they start falling.Your first stop in searching for a french property should be through the Notaires website (www.notaires.fr). We have had nearly 40 UK families who have stayed at our campsite during the past 2 years who have bought in our area, on our advice, most of them have bought through the Notaire nd in a couple of cases over 3,000 Euros cheaper than the agents advertise with the added advantage that the Notaire has to be scrupulously honest and, if asked, will often advise if an offer is likely to be accepted. The discount culture is not like the UK, Some people will take an offer, some of the older ones will be insulted.Prices are continuing to rise steadily. Our campsite which we bought for £45K 5 years ago would probably sell now for £150K ( Nice house,ongoing business, good views and enough land). House and barn with a little land hasn't risen so steeply. Land is cheaper here than the UK and it is often cheaper to buy a plot and build a house rather than restoring a ramshackle place.www.leschenauds.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letrangere Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 The number of properties on the market but not selling is the talk of many friends in the SW. Nothing new really, the French market was traditionally very slow. But fuelled by UK house inflation and the mad rush to buy in France, people rather got used to things moving a lot faster in recent years. With the exception of those selling up, everyone puts it down to owners (be they Brits, French or any other nationality) getting greedy and asking too much. French friends from Bordeaux with a very generous budget looking to buy around Sarlat (they're Anglophiles) were driven to a state of near apoplexy at some of the places they were shown in their price range. A Brit agent in NW 24 told me recently it's impossible to make some owners see sense and that she's embarrassed showing prospective buyers around some houses. She also says she's receiving less enquiries to buy than anytime since she started in the business in 2001. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 It just so happened that I popped into the Agence Immobillier here yesterday and she says that there are no buyers at all.She was called to value a local house and the British owners thought it wasn't enough so they went somewhere else. I think if you are buying from a British person, they will hold out for every penny they can. Especially if it hasn't been on the market long. The same goes for the French too, obviously. For Sale signs are up longer and there seems to be more for sale.....It really is a buyers market but the price has indeed shot up.Rumour has it that prices will drop but I don't think they will go that low. It will be a negative equity scenario and I can't see that happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 if the house is still on the market with different agents and you know where it is try approaching the owner independently you will save agents fees and might get it at a good price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 You probably know this already but here goes anywayThe housing market in France is nothing like England (in our bit of North 46 at least). A house is a home, somewhere to live not a potential short term tax free capital gain. The influx of foreigners in recent years has led the French to believe that the Brits etc will pay any price resulting in completely unrealistic asking prices but the seller firmly believes that if he waits long enough some stupid ass will pay the price. There are exceptions though - 2 years ago a house in our hamlet went on the market at around €220k. The price gradually fell until last seen at just under €150k. A neighbour tells me that it has now been sold to a French couple. This does not mean that prices are falling - just that a realistic price has been attained.If you see a house you like, offer what you think it is worth to you. Who cares if the seller is offended - it's your money. But do not assume he will agree to come down. The estate agents windows are full of pictures so there SEEMS to be plenty of choice.Johnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le bouffon Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 I agree with boris that it is much better to buy a piece of land and have a new build than do up a wreck,thing is down here E100,000 will only buy about 5/600m2 some way out in the sticks may add a bit more land but not much,and most of the time it will be in a lotissement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpprh Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 Hi here is a forum about house prices in UK & France : http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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