French expats buying more property than brits

British buyers in France still lag behind expat French property investors in absolute numbers, according to a report produced by Credit Foncier.

Although British interest in areas such as the Cote D’Azur recovered last year to the point where it now accounts for 14% of all property bought by UK investors, in absolute terms, it is the overseas French buyers who account for nearly a third of all overseas originated property purchases, followed by the Brits who now make up 15% of all expat buyers.

The French property market is generally regarded as having weathered the credit crisis well, with overall sales volumes now returning to the boom years of 2003 to 2007 and prices moving forward in the second quarter of 2011 by 7.8% on average, with areas such as the Cote D’Azur showing gains of 8.4%, according to the French Property Market Report produced by the State Notaries in France.

‘With UK property values outside London still falling, it is easy to forget that other popular property markets are continuing to recover strongly,’ said Tim Harvey of euro mortgage specialists Offshoreonline. 

Source: ExpatForum.com