French Property Prices Continue to Rise

French property prices
continue to rise

The latest figures from the Fédération Nationale de l’Immobilier
(the French National Real Estate Federation) show that the values of property
in France have risen for the fifth consecutive quarter.  With strong growth in house prices, France is
an increasingly popular location for Brits looking to buy overseas property.

Prices of property in
France rise again

The FNAIM’s latest report shows that house prices once again rose in
the second quarter of 2011 and have now risen for five consecutive
quarters.  Prices of properties sold by
FNAIM members rose by an average of 3.3 per cent over the previous quarter,
driven by a strong 4.3 per cent increase in the value of properties outside
Paris.

Trevor Leggett, Chief Executive of Leggett Immobilier, said:
“Further headlines of house price rises need to be treated with caution. We
know that the average price of property sold in France by FNAIM members has
increased by 6.8 per cent overall this year but it’s important that vendors
expectation levels remain realistic.

“Sensible pricing will mean that transaction levels remain
consistent and both buyers and sellers will benefit.”

Many agents are seeing increased levels of demand from Brits,
particularly at the luxury home end of the market.  This is partly due to new wealth tax rules
that are coming into force in the country which make France one of the most
attractive destinations in Europe to buy.

Nick Marr from Homes Go Fast explains: “The threshold for the wealth
tax – called ISF – is increasing from €800,000 to €1.3 million.  This means that households with assets of
between €800,000 and €1.3 million will now no longer pay a wealth tax of 0.25
per cent.

“The tax is 0.25 per cent for households with assets above the new
threshold of €1.3 million and 0.5 per cent for households with assets over €3
million.”