by FSBO 
If you’re interested in selling French property to cash buyers, the recent developments in Europe present a unique opportunity. France has used the recent Brexit referendum as an opportunity to attract multinational companies, major financial institutions, and big businesses away from London and into Paris.
The French Prime Minister has created a “welcome desk” targeted at businesses and their employees who are considering moving to Paris from London following Brexit. The government is keen to answer any questions that corporate executives may have about buying properties in France.
The government realizes that corporate taxes have always been high in France and plans to bring them down to 28%. The goal is to make France a popular alternative destination with international investors who would otherwise invest in the UK, but are looking elsewhere because of Brexit.
In fact, France is one of the hottest overseas property markets in the world right now. And why not – despite the recent terrorist attacks and the strikes by the labour unions, which affected life in the country, France has a very stable political system and a steady economy, which is largely insulated from the booms and busts as seen in the US and the UK.
Everything should be going well for the property market in France – at least in theory – but the data that’s available to us shows otherwise. While the picture isn’t grim by any means, it is just a fact that foreign interest in French properties has declined slightly since 2014.
Britons are still the biggest buyers of properties here, but overseas buyers from emerging nations such as China, Russia and the Middle East have been reported to buying just 1% of the properties in France. This is a big decline from 2007, when 2.8 percent of the homes in France were held by international buyers.
Britons are dominant in the French property market – make no mistake about that. They are responsible for 32% of the property sales made to foreign investors. Britons generally buy properties in western and central France, and prefer to buy in rural areas. More than anything else, Brits buy a home in France to soak in the laidback lifestyle at the French countryside.
Italians are big buyers of properties in France as well, responsible for 15% of the sales made to foreign buyers. It’s no surprise that Belgians are prominent buyers of overseas properties here as Belgium is practically next door to France.
Belgians are behind 11% of the sales made to non-residents. The Swiss are big buyers as well – the Swiss interest in France is limited to the French Alps. They are big buyers of ski chalets in France.
The situation is expected to get much better in the near future. A lot of cash-rich Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern buyers are considering France very seriously because property prices here are at the lowest they’ve been since 2008.
Mortgage rates are at a low. The French government is doing everything possible to encourage overseas investment in French properties. Many wealthy Chinese investors have been on a buying spree in Paris, snapping up apartments in some of the priciest neighborhoods there.
A lot of interest is expected to come from the US as well, where the economy has taken off recently, which means people are more confident about making big ticket purchases abroad. Americans, of course, have always been in love with France.
If you need to sell property in France Fast to cash rich buyers contact us today.
