British interest in French property high
An increased in the availability of new build properties in France has prompted interest from a fresh generation of British buyers looking for low cost, minimum maintenance investment opportunities, it is claimed.
Traditionally buyers looking for French real estate have looked at older properties, often in need of renovation but with finance proving much easier to secure on new build homes the latest breed of UK investor is being lured by attractive development deals across the Channel.
‘A shortage of homes throughout France has seen increased house building activity and the fact that they are much cheaper than resale properties with mortgages easier to obtain means there is a lot of interest,’ said Patrick Joseph, of French property website My-French-House.com.
’The properties come with a builders guarantee and specifications such as garden size and kitchen fitments can often be negotiated, something that appeals to modern British buyers,’ he explained.
The fact that that planning authorities are allowing more new builds in popular areas likes the Alps is also proving popular. ‘With the ski season about to start new developments in France’s Alpine resorts are very popular at the moment. We have some stylish two-bedroom leaseback apartments in Les Saisies, for example, with direct slope access for just €208,000 including estate agent fees,’ Joseph added.
Joseph explained that the French property market was buoyant, partly due to low mortgage rates and good availability across all price ranges.
‘There are some fantastic opportunities to be had in the new build sector, all ready to move into and perfect for families looking for a second home within easy reach of the UK, some also offer Leaseback schemes,’ he said.
Annecy based developer MGM Group is to build more than a thousand new ski resort properties in the French Alps in a bid to keep pace with growing demand. It has plans to start work on new schemes in 11 locations as soon as this winter’s ski season is over.
Richard Deans of MGM’s UK sales office in London’s Regent Street says that, for the company, this will be the biggest ever number of new developments to get underway in a single year.
‘Several factors have combined to achieve this. Planning applications which have taken some time to reach the approval stage now have the go-ahead and, with market growth across the French Alps gaining momentum, we decided to draw a higher than usual number of sites from our land bank so that we can start creating new apartments for occupation in less than two years from now,’ he explained.
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