Good time to invest?

[Pierre]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone here had noticed an upswing on the French housing market of late? So is this something you’ve noticed? Is it a good time to invest or worth holding off? Look forward to hearing from you! Peter

[cooperlola]

The problem, imo, is that so many of these articles come from companies in whose interest it is to get you to buy - fx dealers, estate agents etc - so I'm never sure how many pinches of salt to take with them.

What is certain, is that the Euro is very strong so if you're buying in Sterling at the moment, you'll suffer badly if the pound strengthens to anything like its previous position in the next 5 years or so.  French property prices have never behaved like British ones so increases in value are tiny compared to some which UK house owners have enjoyed in the past.

[Quillan]

I wouldn't say that the Euro is strong, its the Pound and Dollar that are week. The Euro against other currencies has moved very little, well certainly not as much as those two. Today it looks like the Interest rate will remain in the UK certainly till the latter part of this year and possibly in to 2012 which in turns keeps the Pound weak against the Euro where interest rates should be going up again very soon. If you want to buy property with the view to investment and you live inside the Euro Zone look at the UK. Prices there can't go much lower, can they?

[Pickles]

There are reasons to suspect that the OP is promoting his own business and site. Similar postings have been made elsewhere (and subsequently deleted by mods).

Regards

Pickles

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Pickles"]There are reasons to suspect that the OP is promoting his own article and site. Similar postings have been made elsewhere.

Regards
Pickles
[/quote]Thanks for the heads up.[:)]  Pretty much reinforces my suspicion that these articles are self-serving, rather than being based on true data.

 

Quite right, Quillan, I guess I should have been more specific and said strong agains the £.[:)]

[Sprogster]

Some real estate professionals are trying to talk up the French property market, when in reality the recent increase in French property prices are distorted by a few French cities such as inner Paris and Lyon, where demand exceeds supply. Look elsewhere in France, especially those rural areas favoured by Brits and the property market is extremely sluggish.

There is a view that increasing interest rates in the eurozone risk setting back the property market, by making mortgages more expensive.

[just john]

Invest in house to live in, even in another to let for income, but for capital appreciation at the moment . . . .[Www] probably a few caveats there . . .

[JSKS]

Any investment achieves a price based on a balance between what the buyer will pay and what the seller will accept. In terms of property the market is always in balance but the balance change depending on availability of property, funds etc.

There is also a widely held notion that the price of property will always rise - this may be true over long periods but nobody can say what will happen in, say, a year. Look at Germany - stagnant prices now for 20 years or so. There is no reason at all why the average property price in UK (about 160k, I think) might not in 5 years be 100k or 250k.

The only truism in investment is that you can only predict the past.

[fisherman]

Yes I have definitely made an investment in my French property. An investment for quiet long breaks in my retirement, an investment in my children’s ability to take a holiday without costing a fortune, an investment in my grand children so that they can explore and play in unspoilt countryside. An investment in making capital – NO.

[Quillan]

With mortgage rates in the EU set to rise yet again very soon anyone suggesting raising finances inside the EU to buy a property as an investment there must be off their trolley.

[Judith]

[quote user="Pierre"]Hi, I was wondering if anyone here had noticed an upswing on the French housing market of late? So is this something you’ve noticed? Is it a good time to invest or worth holding off? Look forward to hearing from you! Peter[/quote]

NO.  If anything, it is more than stagnant (whatever that might be).

[NickP]

A couple of years ago while working along side a Frenchman in the UK on a project, we were talking about property and he was interested to find out that I owned a house in France, and the inevitable question came from him as to why, my reply was very similar to fisherman's. The French guy then asked if I new the difference between French house buyers and the British house buyers? His answer; the French buy a home to live in, the British buy a house to sell it on. This made a lot of sense to me and possibly explains the differences in culture. Also I think the British are more susceptible to advertising and propaganda from the media.

[cooperlola]

Surely the real truth is that we are all different, Nick?  We've owned three houses in the 38 years we've been together - I don't think the idea of "investment" ever came into it - it was just a way to live where we wanted to and control what we did with it (ie have as many animals etc as we wished and be as scruffy and unconcerned about the state of the place as we liked without worrying what a landlord might say.)  [:)]

[Weedon]

Investment is just like sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.  It is only correct for the time your finger is in the air. I would hazard a guess that anybody with enough second vision to predict investments with any real success isn't posting on Living France.

That being said I might be able to help. I am at present looking to buy a house as I am homeless come the end of July, and if past record counts for anything I seemed to have always bought when prices were going up and sold when prices took a nose-dive.

If you see a lonely figure wandering round Mayenne with his finger in the air and with "wipe feet here" stencilled across his forehead, that'll be me. 

[Doodle]

We have an english estate agent living near by and he told us that there has been a lot more interest from british buyers so far this year than the 12 months last year. However, we have noticed ourselves that this year 3 english owned properties that were up for sale in our village have been sold to the french. Maybe the french are getting a good mortgage deal or have decided to invest in property rather than in french saving accounts.

Chris

[Anton Redman II]

You still face the fact that in the UK in order to receive the same amount of cash you paid for the house you typically need an under 5 % increase in prices. In France you need about 17 %.