France is being sold as the next property hotspot next to Turkey, Germany and Greece for 2008. Mainly due to favourable lending my French banks,; new low cost airline agreements and the French themselves investing their money in property instead of the stock market. Whether this will happen only time will tell.
http://www.hiday.net/news.html?newsid=198

Prices do seem to be going up slightly, but only in the places favoured by the local market (newish, town properties with employment) - probably due to the new laws on tax relief. Prices of Brit favoured old country homes seem to be dropping like a stone as far as I can tell.

We are planning to re-locate to SW France next year and from my own property price tracking (not new builds) - prices are dropping. Talking to EAs they confirm this is the case with property not shifting and many asking prices being reduced by 10% and open to offers of 10% under asking price. Even then they are still too expensive for local French people and with the GBP-Euro exchange rate and UK credit crunch i expect UK buyers not to be investing any time soon, so I think we may see further drops especially if UK investors decide to sell up abroad and more property is up for sale.

100% correct as I write.

Points taken! However when you look at prices of flats in London, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, 60 00 - 70 000 euros for an apartment in the French suburbs overlooking the Seine cant be bad. Surely whatever happens it is much better value than what is on offer in the UK at the moment.
http://www.hiday.net/news.html?newsid=198

I to would like to relocate to SW France.

Been watching a property for 235k Euro's it has just dropped to 200k.

Think I might wait a bit longer!

SNAP ! One we are interested in has just dropped 30k Euro in asking price. Only problem is Euro is getting so much stronger against the pound - these house drops are being offset. We don't plan to buy until late 2008/early 2009 and re-locate mid 2009 so we will play waiting game for a few more months and hope things will go in the right direction for us. Either way we are leaving the UK for France - that is certain.

I think the Euro will weaken

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...8/cneuro128.xml This is on today'sblog

More important some one clever thinks so.

This then will be perfect, falling house prices and strengthening pound.

I am told that most French sellers will accept an offer 10% below asking.

Where abouts in France are you thinking of?

Just spotted anther one falling in price. Last week 745k Euro's this week 691.9K

Ambrose is at it again. Fact is, we don't know enough about the eurozone (or UK) policy and conditions compared to what we know about the US. The euro is an untested currency, meaning it could be stronger or weaker than anyone expects. And we have no idea what financial calamities are waiting to happen in Asia.

I guess sterling will decline against the euro for years. God knows what happens with the dollar and the yuan.

I guess sterling will decline against the euro for years. God knows what happens with the dollar and the yuan.
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Say the pressures within the Eurozone lead to the collapse of the Euro!

Not saying it will happen but it could.

QUOTE (wadisgod @ Mar 2 2008, 04:21 PM)

Just spotted anther one falling in price. Last week 745k Euro's this week 691.9K

This one has now dropped to 651,900 Euros!!!!!!!!!

Going over this week to view four. The Agent tells me that nothing is selling ( must take the time of year into account) and to start my offers around 25% less. This is a massive change in sentiment as far as the French are concerned.
Things must be bad over there and it appears that inflation is killing them.

Lots of Brits I know in the Aude region of Languedoc are really beginning to worry about the effect of the strong euro on their pensions and savings (together with the recent problems relating to medical cover) - also, in that part of France (inland not on the coast) properties are coming on at an absurdly high rate (both in numbers and asperational pricing) and naturally, nothing is selling. Economically this is still a very poor and backward region and once again it is the greedy Brits who are either trying to get out competely or flog off the spare maison they bought to rent out and can't, who have caused this scenario.

Something will have to give though.

We looked at buying a place in SW France a little while back, but with the recent fall in the value of Sterling versus the Euro, I don't think we will go down this route now.

From my experience, house prices in rural areas of SW France rose steeply (in Euro terms) from around 2001 to 2004, then flattened out. Talking candidly to a local agent in the spring of last year, it appears that transaction volumes nosedived around 2004/05 with relatively few buyers around. However vendors were still reluctant to drop their prices or in most cases to accept low offers, even on properties which were basically wrecks and uninhabitable.

I think the test will be how many Brits decide to sell up because of what is now a poor exchange rate (though not a problem if they have a locally derived income) and the recent negative changes to health cover. There is always an attrition rate, with expats returning for family or other reasons. However I can see this accelarating which will lead to an increased number of properties for sale, further depressing prices (of the type of houses Brits usually go for). The one positive aspect for returning expats is that the Sterling value of their sale will be higher, possibly cancelling out the reduction in sale price. But are there any willing and able buyers around at the moment?