T
he last three years
have seen a remarkable turnaround
at
the top end of the
French market, with
rising prices and strong demand
in Paris, the Alps, PACA and the
provincial City market.
Last year saw 960,000
transactions in France, well over
a million if you add in newbuilds
and many of these were in the
prestige sector. Of course, Paris
is at the heart of this market and
prices reached record highs last
year, it's interesting to note that
it still remains excellent value
when compared to other global
capitals. The Notaires de France
tell us that the average price
in the 6th arrondissement is
13,330 euros per m2 and this is
well below Hong Kong (around
40,000 euros per m2), Tokyo
(33,000 euros per m2), London
(17,000 euros per m2) and New
York (14,000 euros per m2).
The ripple effect across the
rest of France has been profound
and there have been
some significant trends in the
Prestige
market is
booming Demand at the top end of the French property market has rarely been this
good, says Jane Berry, head of Prestige
PRESTIGE PROPERTY LEGGETT MAGAZINElast 12 months. In the Alps we
have seen a spike in demand
for newbuilds and off-plan
property, where staggered payments, tax incentives
and state
of the art construction techniques have
been driving sales.
In PACA we have seen strong
demand for family properties
with a view of the Med, and we
have some spectacular villas to
choose from within our portfolio.
Buyers here come from both
the domestic market and overseas, with
Italy, Belgium, the UK
and Germany leading the way.
We have always had a consistent demand for
country
houses and estates and we currently
have a particularly good
crop to choose from. The same
goes for vineyard properties
where we have particular expertise,
the department is run by
my colleague Xavier Routurier
whose family have been in the
wine business for generations.
Possibly the most interesting trend
is international buyers
looking to buy a château to
restore - this is undoubtedly
due to the popular UK TV series
"Escape to the château" and
our website traffic spikes every
time a show comes on. We have
around 175 châteaux for sale at
under 2m euros and enquiries
are through the roof.
Prime city property is also
attracting strong demand and
premium prices. We opened
our Paris office on Ile St. Louis
last year and have seen a constant stream
of both buyers and
vendors come through the door.
It is a similar story in Bordeaux
where good property is selling
as soon as it hits the market and
we are looking to expand. Similarly,
our teams in Nice, Lyon,
Annecy and La Rochelle are all
looking for new recruits to make
the most of current market conditions.
Our prognosis for 2019 is
"more of the same" - the French
economy remains strong and
there is a strong investment
case for buying French real estate.
We expect another record
year.
106 LEGGETTFRANCE.COM
Jane Berry
heads our Prestige
property
department.