Selling your French home? Targeting your potential buyer.........

Marketing is very much about tailoing your product or service to a specific group of potential buyers which you have identified from research. And depending on whether you own a one-room apartment or a three-bed house there is someone out there looking for exactly what you are trying to sell.

Recent research from America - and it can easily be applied to France - has identified five specific groups of buyers and what it is they are looking for and why. According to the figures:

- 30% of buyers are looking for a larger home as a result of an increase in family size (arrival of a second or third child for example)

- 27% are looking for their first 'real home' as a result of marriage or deciding to live together

- 24% as a result of a change in family circumstances, such as children leaving home or a change of job

- 39% of 55-65 year olds are looking ahead to retirement

- 28% of over 65s have reached retirement and are looking to downsize or move to a more relaxed area (such as the huge north/south shift in France as the post-war generation comes up to retirement and have a property to sell whose value has risen due to house price inflation.

Whether you are trying to sell your apartment or house to a buyer from virtually any of these groups, the most important criteria have been identified as:

- most typical purchase is a three-bedroom, two bathroom property

- 86% rate the kitchen as the most important deciding factor

- 50% are looking for a master bedroom or parental suite with its own bathroom etc.

- the principal living space tends to include an open-plan kitchen, dining area and lounge area

- quality of outside space, such as a terrace, garden, pool etc


With acknowledgements to realtor.com USA.

Posted by peterderouffignac@orange.fr

Furnished properties sell faster....

As any estate agent will tell you, when home hunting  potential buyers are more likely to be attracted by houses or apartments that are presented furnished rather those which have been stripped of their contents as the previous owners/sellers have already moved out. This is of course the reason why speculative housing developers invariably feature a 'show house' to give buyers an idea of what the property could like for potential purchasers.

Totally empty properties are difficult to visualise and viewers are often unable to imagine what their furniture would look like occupying the huge empty spaces around - though in fact some rooms may look smaller when empty than they actually are. Empty spaces tend to show off any minor defects - tired decor, worn or damaged floors, loose electrical fittings - that should have been put right by the previous owners before putting the property on the market.

There are a number of possible solutions if you find yourself having to sell your property in its empty state, among them the tried and tested 'home staging'. Proponents of this alternative include France's best known estate agent Stephen Plaza who in addition to owning a network of estate agencies is the star of several TV programmes such as 'Chasseurs de'appartement' (apartment hunters) and 'Maison à vendre' (house for sale) both on Channel 6. Plaza works with a number of designers and contractors who, in the worst cases, transform typical over-crowded, over-furnished pre- and post-war houses owned by our parents and grand-parents, and turns them into their light and airy modern equivalent. Typical budgets for a major transformation are often around 2 to 3 per cent of the asking price, and almost invariably result in a number of offers and a sale - including many which have languished on the market for weeks or months.  

If your home is empty but otherwise in good repair, you could employ a designer specialising in home staging who can furnish all or some of the rooms with furniture and acccessories for the occasion - say, the living room and one of the bedrooms if you are on a tight budget.  A lower cost solution is to present a computerised version on a laptop or similar showing what a room could look life when furnished. And floor plans which over the years seem to have disappeared from the details supplied by estate agents invariably help potential buyers to visualise where their furniture might fit.

When you decide to put your property on the market is the time to take photographs showing it furnished, as picture of empty rooms are almost worthless when trying to sell.

Finally, it does without saying that your pre-sale preparations should include fixing all those nagging little defects you may have been putting off for years, such as loose tiles, unfinished paintwork, dripping taps, cracked windows, and being ruthless in your de-cluttering.

French furnished lettings - security for both owner and tenant

French furnished lettings provide a measure of security both for the owner of the property and the tenant/occupier, following a tightening of the rules in the loi Alur of March 2014, promoted by the then housing minister Cecile Duflot.

Many are based on the regulations concerning unfurnished properties but offer a briefer period of tenure - 12 months renewable, reduced to 9 months in the case of a term-time student lettings - with the option to renew the tenancy and the right of the tenant to leave the property at any time at 4 weels notice.

On signing the tenancy agreement, the owner can ask for a security deposit of two months' rent (note that the maximum for unfurnished tenancies is just one month) and other provisions using a standard contract which will include an inventory of the contents. In order for a property to be classified as 'furnished' certain basic items must be provided by the owner, including means of eating, sleeping, heating etc and listed on a standard form which will become part of the lease and agreed between the parties.

If the owner wishes to give notice to the tenant, he can justify this only on restricted grounds,such as non-payment of rent or serious misuse, or his intention to occupy the property for his own use or in order to sell it.

How much to charge? It is possible for anyone with disposable capital to buy a property which has a tenant already in place (either furnished or unfurnished) so the rent will be known. The short-term furnished market is fairly competitive, offering a wide range of choice for a prospective tenant who will normally be well informed about going rates in the locality - from agency websites and informally from friends and colleagues. In some areas, including Paris, rents can be controlled by the local authority under new regulations (2016, 2017) designed to prevent price inflation where there is a known shortgage of available properties. Universities and other institutions may also have their own rules should a property owner wish to have his property added to their housing list.

Short term renters, according to the experts*, often have a different profile from long-termers and owner/occupiers, They may be younger, prepared to live in a small space (say, 20 square metres) on higher floors with no lift, and in cental/mixed areas that might not attract long stayers but which offer quick access to public transport, local shopping and other basic amenities, And if the property is well furnished and decorated and offers something a bit special renters may be prepared to pay an above-average rent.

Furnished lets by their nature mean a higher turnover of occupants than with unfurnished properties, and will need to be constantly refreshed and furniture  replaced. It may be possible to let them on a very short basis as holiday lets (such as through AirBnb) in popular tourist areas. In the case of 9-month student let, a two to three month summer rental might be possible - if the property is large enought for at least two people. If not, you could try attracting a seasonal worker. All these options require hands-on management in order to succeed.

* "Comment je suis devenue rentière" by Elise Franck describes in detail how she became the owner of several short-term rental properties, with numerous tips, illustrations and cost breakdowns. Essential reading, along with her website which cotains a lot of useful advice including before and after illustrations and examples of successful renovations.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

Property sales rise 5% during 2016 in Pyrénées-Orientales

Sales of property during 2016 - excluding new-builds - rose by a healthy 5% in Pyrénées-Orientales over previous years - and surpassing the levels of the boom years 2000-2007following the switch to the euro and the price inflation that followed; together with a slowdown in sales - including by British and other non-French purchasers during the years prior to 2000  when prices were ridiculously low compared with Britain - a two room apartment on the beach for less than the equivalent of £20 000 was not uncommon.

The region is a now recognised first-choice for retirees from the post-war boom generation who benefited from full employment and increases in living standards during the 'thirty glorious' years up to 1980 and the shock of the first oil price rises. The typical French buyer from that period owns a house in or near Paris which can be sold for a high price that offers a comfortable budget with which to buy an apartment or house in the rural or coastal south, an area where the average price per square metre can be as low 1200 euros.......

An article in the current Logic-immo journal speaks of the attraction of the numerous small villages surrounding Perpignan, within easy reach of the Mediterranean coast (where prices are higher - for example around 4000 per square metre in Argelès-sur-mer) and the mountains inland, together with the proximity of the Spanish border for low-cost shopping; and Barcelona reached by car in two hours or fast TGV rail services (under 1 hour from Perpignan).

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

Barcelona trying to control tourist numbers

According to a report in today's Guardian* newspaper, my near neighbour Barcelona, just over the border from where I live, is suffering from a massive influx of tourists - 32 millions annually compared with a resident population of just 1.2 citizens.

Many are classed as day-trippers but for those staying longer (some 8 million estimated) the city offers 75,000 hotel beds, some 50,000 registered holiday apartments and an estimated 50,000 ones.

Action is needed according to a newly-formed group SOS Barcelona, a combination of some 40 resident and community associations, who are protesting about increasing property prices for (would-be) residents and poor wages paid for thouse working in the tourist sector.

They are opposed by the hoteliers association who argue that more temporary accommodation is in fact needed for longer stay visitors who contribute substantially more to the local economy than the day-trippers. Their views seem to coincide with popular public opinion which in a survey last year conclude that Barcelona's biggest problem was unemployment and not the effects of tourism.

* My acknowledgements to Stephen Burgen, The Guardian, Friday 27 January 2017.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

'Garden villages' 2

Following my post below about the British government's decision to 'help the housing crisis' by creating a series of 'garden villages' and the various comments in the Guardian and other newspapers - mostly critical - and my story about moveable/transportable wooden houses in America.

A colleague contacted me about a similar situation in Australia where it was quite common for owners wanting to move to another area to buy a plot of land and take with them their existing wooden home, using a transporter. The whole idea is to keep down prices and continue to enjoy the home they have invested with a lot of time and effort, and money.

And going back to the American example shown on a French TV series, just to reiterate that the re-sale prices of refurbished homes are often less than $30 000: even with the cost of further transport to the owner's new site and preparation of the necessary foundations, connection to electricity, water, sewage etc, The price of the entire operation can still be under $45 000 - in marked contrast to the 'average prices' being quoted for the British 'garden villages' which have been estimated at between £250 000 to £450 000!

Among the many adverse comments on the British proposals by those fearing that England, particularly the south-east, could become a giant garden suburb, a contributor writing from Spain notes that his country have managed to get the balance about right. Inner cities are highly developed, with apartments occupied above ground floor shops etc, leaving the countryside free of urban sprawl. He notes that to reach a housing density equivalent to that of Britain, Spain would have to increase its population from 47 million to 200 million.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

  

'Garden villages' as a housing solution?

This post is prompted by an article in the Guardian about the government's plan to create 14 new 'garden villages' in different areas of England from Cornwall to the north-west (though excluding Scotland and Wales) and build a total of 48,000 new homes. Many of the proposed developments will be on green field sites and away from existing towns and villages.

Among the 800 readers' comments already registered - mostly not in favour of the proposals - many complain about the lack of infrastructure in the plans, and the need for new roads, railway lines, stations, shopping and other facilities, as would-be residents would need to commute to work, shop and enjoy their leisure in the nearest town. 

Writing from France, it is interesting to contrast this proposal with concerns about the decline of many French small towns and villages, as many younger people leave to find work in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and the other major conurbations, and farmers are leaving the land. As a result many surviving villages are left without shops and other basic facilities and are populated by older people and owners of second homes during the high season. 

What many of the Guardian commentators also suggest is that more emphasis should be placed on protecting and preserving town centres, where many properties above offices and shops lie empty, former factories and warehouses could be re-develeoped for housing, and older properties renovated instead of being demolished - offering homes nearer to where the jobs are, and reducing the need for daily commuting from outside town and creating additional problems of traffic congestion (on roads and rail in London) and pollution (Paris).  

The neglect of town centres leads in turn to unoccupied shops and the shift of commerce to the huge out-of-town shopping centres that continue to appear in both Britain and France, even though their decline is well documented in America. 

And talking of the USA reminds me of a very interesting programme on French TV (Channel 22 'Renovation impossible') which documents how  it is possible to purchase for less than  $1000 a rundown wooden house, which is then transported by road for around a further $5000 to the desired site and renovated for an average $15,000 and is ready for re-occupation - a new home for under $30,000. Most of the properties shown are large enough to provide a living area with open-plan kitchen, one to two bedrooms, and a bathroom/WC. Sold at auction they attract mainly young married couples just starting out or elderly couples looking to downsize in retirement.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr 

Household debt in America

The number of confirmed downsizers in America may be statistically small, but what is certain is the huge amount of household debt among those still living in large houses, either by choice or necessity (such as inability to sell their home and move).

The figures are alarming:

- Average consumer debt was recently estimated at 97,000 dollars per household, a mix of mortgage repayments, credit card expenditure and repayment of other loans

- A quarter of owners surveyed whose property includes a two-car garage admitted they could not park their car(s) due to the amount of surplus possessions already stored in the garage

- While one in ten large house-owners rent additional external storage lockers (the subjet of numerous French TV programmes) to store their surplus possessions

- Many confess that they do not even enter some of the rooms in their large homes.

Posted by peterdanton@orange.fr

Buying or selling - preparing a property for sale

If you are prepating to move here's what you can do to help sell your property - and what buyers are often lookng for - including you......

According to recent research the way houses and apartments are sold has gradually changed over the last decade - owners are now taking more care how to present their home (known as 'house doctoring') and buyers are taking less time to search, viewing fewer properties before deciding, and come armed with a list of 'must-haves' which will define their choice.

- Typically buyers spend more time on the internet searching through agency websites and consulting private sales announcements and less time on the actual search, down to actually viewing just two or three properties in many cases. Items on many wish-lists include a preference for modern or older style properties, the latter often defined as 'le charme de l'ancien'. Older houses are seen as more solid and particularly if recently converted will appeal to younger buyers making their first purchase.

- Other popular requirements include:
- a large living room, preferably with an open plan (American) kitchen (rare in older properties unless recently converted)
- separate bedrooms for each child, to include a place to do homework, store books and toys, and convertible to a 'teenage den' in due course
- sufficient space and ceiling height to install a mezzanine
- separate larger bedroom for the parents (chambre/suite parentale) to include its own bath or shower room, and if possible a separate clothes storage area - known as le dressing.
- at least one more WC/shower room
- sufficient storage generally, though this is one of the easiest to remedy (numerous storage solutions offered at DIY centres etc)
- large garage - to include space for a workshop or hobbies, storage of sports or camping gear
- outside space - balcony or terrace, space for pets and children to play, possibly a swimming pool as you move further south
- parquet flooring, tiles acceptable in kitchen or bathroom
- a separate WC is a bonus - especially if it is equipped (rarely in my experience) with a wash-hand basin (to avoid visitors using your bathroom).

- A house or apartment with recent, neutral décor, as well as items from the above wish-list will make the job of selling much easier, provided it is well photographed and presented in the appropriate media. A pleasant location, including nice views, are a bonus though some buyers may compromise on either if the property itself really attracts them.

- Property descriptions to note include 'bon standing' (posh!), 'quartier tranqillle' (quiet neighbourhood), 'tout à l'egout' (connected to main drainage).

- Totally empty properties may be harder to sell as potential buyers find it difficult to visualise the overall space and imagine themselves in place. Leaving curtains hanging can help soften the space.

- Small spaces look better when furnished with a few large pieces of furniture (such as an attractive settee) rather than an abundance of smaller pieces, often advertised as 'designed for small spaces'

- I personally dislike convertible or multi-functional furniture - such as a sofa-bed (canapé) that has to be opened and fitted with sheets, blankets etc every night

- I also have a thing about ceiling (pendant) lights, particularly chandeliers, unless you happen to live in a chateau. They are best used over a table (such as a dining table) or kitchen counter, rather than as general room lighting - which can be harsh.

- Ceiling spotlights are much more subtle, particularly if you can adjust them to highlight interesting features of the property, such as wood beams.  You can do the same with 'mood' lighting, dimmers and 'task' lighting for example in your work area.

- If you are a potential buyer, your wish-list may include some or all of the above, and if these desirable elements are not already in place, you can view the property with an eye to its potential for conversion. This is where you may need to use your imagination. Many properties are on sale because their owners need more space and unless they have de-cluttered the property it will necessarily look small and un-manageable.

- You need to look at potential for shifting walls, taking advantage of large windows, introducing lighter colours (not patterned) on walls, using 'accent colours' to emphasise some features, furnishing with more modern pieces, and generally bringing the property up to modern tastes, either your own or that of a potential buyer.

- You may be depressed by the radical changes necessary to make your home  saleable, but keep in mind that your potential buyers will hopefully be the new owners with carte blanche to do what they want with your former home.

- You can get ideas and inspiration watching French TV programmes hosted by estate agent Stephane Plaza such as "Cherche appartement ou maison" featuring property buyers and "Maison à vendre" about preparing properties for sale.The average spend by vendors in the second programme is normally between 3 and 4 per cent of the asking price.  Both on Channel 6.

* An excellent source for design ideas and photographs of small spaces before and after conversions is the website elise-franck.com as well as her book which describes in great details how she goes about converting rundown  properties (in Paris, Lyon, Marseilles)  either for sale or short-term furnished letting. She also provide a consultancy service to clients. Packed with colour photographs and detailed cost breakdowns.

Posted by peter-danton@orange.fr

The 'uberisation' of property in France?

There are increasing concerns in the newly fashionable 'sharing/caring economy' of the increasing 'uberisation' of homes - taken from the word Uber which is an umbrella organisation providing websites and services such as taxis and car sharing, and best known for its Airbnb network under which owners sublet their homes for periods of a weekend or just a vew days.

Opposition has already come from hoteliers faced with this new competition and the city of Paris suffering the loss of tourist taxes (now collected by Uber users), and more recently with owner/occupiers living permanently in apartment blocks and finding their lives disrupted by the comings and goings of extremely short-term renters.

It is against this background that the estate agency network Orpi and the polling organisation Ipsos have published a survey of trends relating to property occupation and ownership. Among the trends noted are:

- Growing popularity of apartment sharing ('colocation') particularly among the under-35s

- Growing trend of subletting a room in their apartment - either long term, short term or very short term (Airdbnb etc) and using the internet to market their availability

- Decline in popularity of second (holiday) homes, described as 'not a priority' by 88% of those interviewed

- Growing trend towards purchasing the main home ('résidence principale') - 54% of under 35s would like to buy

- A home office is now seen as essential by 62% of under-35s interviewed, taking over from the dressing room.

- Also popular is a large open-plan living area, with a kitchen offering an island unit and facilities for informal meals (breakfast bar).


Source LeFigaro 05/11/2015 FrenchEntree.com 06/11/2015

Furnished lettings

With the approach of autumn, now is the time to think about and to prepare for letting your property as a short-term furnished rental.

Short-term furnished rentals are designed for a minimum of twelve months (nine months in the case of a student rental) as opposed to three years for non-furnished rentals. You can also ask for a generous deposit against unpaid rent and damages, and a guarantee from parents.

There is an obligation (under the recent loi Alur) to provide a minimum of furnishings - including a bed and bedding; a hot plate for cooking; oven or microwave; chairs and dining table; basic cooking and eating utensils; adequate heating; sufficient and appropriate storage for clothes, books etc; and the tools to keep the rental basically clean.

You can advertise your property through local newspapers, student magazines (and/or get on their housing list), and specialist magazines such as LeBonCoin.

If you are considering letting a larger property you might considered letting it as a 'co-location', where each tenant signs the lease, and seek appropriate guarantees for example from parents.

The student rental market is relatively easy to enter as there is a shortage of university accommodation and those who do not live at home have to rely on the private sector. 

Renting to students

Between now and the autumn, some 1.4 students in France will be searching for accommodation at the start of the academic year. Due to the scarcity of student hostels in France, the majority will be lodging in the private sector or living at home with their parents -many students opting to go to the university nearest to them rather than in another part of France, unless their chosen course is highly specilaised. A recent article in LeFigaro* described the student rental market as follows:

Private rented accommodation - 28%
Living at home with parents - 27%
Sharing ('colocation') - 12%
Cité Universitaire - 11% (165 000)
Student residence - 8% (110 000)
Other - 5%
Family owned property - 3%
Linked to job - 1%

The minimum monthly rental in Paris is likely to be 750 euros, slightly less at 500 euros in cities such as Lille, Lyon or Marseilles; and a minimum of 300 euros elsewhere.

If you happen to own a rental apartment that is also close to a holiday resort, you may be able to let it also during the high season (July, August) when students are on holiday. A typical weekly rental would be about the same level as the monthly charge out of season, as a very rough guide.

*LeFigaro.fr

Renting out your French home for profit.....two useful guides

If you are considering renting out your French main or second home, you may be interested in a couple of books that guide you through the process and help you make a profit. Both are heavily influenced by the American short-term rental platform Airbnb and are published on Amazon Kindle.

They are:
- Doublez vos réservations by Thibault Masson (in French)
- The Airbnb Entrepreneur by Warren Bell (in English)

Masson's book is discussed in this morning's LeFigaro* online and covers six principal areas:

1. Investigating and deciding on your target market, such as families with children, business visitors or romantic couples. Each market is quite distinct, and depends on the size and type of your property, its location and what are its nearby 'attractions' that will appeal to your target group.

2. Target your marketing and description to your chosen group and emphasise the elements likely to appeal to them.

3. Reply quickly to enquiries - potential renters usually approach an average of five competing properties and a prompt reply helps win customers.

4. Having done your research, make sure your prices are in line with similar offers in the same sector.

5. Look after the details and ensure particularly that beds and baths are impeccable, as they are among renters' prime concerns.

6. Provide little extras, such as overnight items for breakfast, or a bottle of champagne for couples.

Airbnb also publish a number of guidelines, specifically tailored to France, including essential tax and legal advice.

* LeFigaro.fr

New York finally allows small apartments

The city of New York is finally following France and almost all of Europe in allowing the constuction of small apartments  that up to now had to be a minimum 37m² - huge by French standards!

Studies revealed that 31 per cent of New Yorkers - the same number curiously as those found to be living in my home town of Perpignan in apartments of less than 30m² (from one-room studios of 15m² upwards). Further investigations in New York found that single occupiers prefer a microwave oven to a traditional cooker and a small kitchen, to which I would add a washing machine/dryer popular with busy singles. Elise Franck, a very successful owner/developer of apartments designed for short term furnished rental has written a book* full of practical ideas and case studies based on her projects in Paris and Lyon.

Back in Manhattan, the New Yorkers are making a cautious start by building 55 apartmenrs ranging from 24 to 33 square metres. 'We have to admit' said a city concil spokesman 'that these are what people want, as we accommodate more singles, people live closer to work, marry later and get divorced sooner'.

* see her website elisefranck.com for details

French property prices - latest trends

One of the most accurate surveys of French property prices comes from Notaires de France, who together with INSEE (a government research organisation) base their figures on actual transactions completed over a 12 month period. They have just produced their report for 2014 and the main conclusions are as follows:

House prices have fallen dramatically only in some areas, particularly second homes located remote inland sectors. Examples include  La Creuse a 50% drop (since 2008), and Périgord, le Gers and Normandie (20 to 25% drop). Whereas overall prices are down from 1 to 3% overall in the rest of France.

Prices for apartments show similar wide variations, from extremes such as Reims (11.1% drop), Toulon (11.2% drop), Limoges (9.1% drop), St Etienne (10.1% drop), while overall in  the rest of the country price deductions have been in the order of 1 to 4 per cent.

Some cities showed significant rises in house prices (older properties) during 2014 compared with 2013, and include Marseille (4.2%), Grenoble (10.9%), and Dijon (7.3%), while several towns in the north of France showed significant falls - Le Havre (14.2%), Rouen (9.1%), Lille (6.6%) and Orléans (9.3%).

Overall there were an estimated 700 000 proerty transactions completed during 2014 - just 3% less than recorded in January 2014 for the previous year.

The overall outlook is seen as promising, with mortgage interest rates at a record low, but France's high unemployment and general uncertainty about the 'recovery' are discouraging many would-be buyers from purchasing.

Bear in mind always that average prices and overall trends are simply indicators, and no two properties are precisely alike, as are the individual circumstances in which sellers and buyers arrive at a common accord.

Average prices for long term rental

Many French people opt to live in rented accommodation, either through choice or necessity, and recent research by INSEE (a government think-tank) shows that in my local town Perpignan some 55% of households comprise renters. Perpignan in many ways is a typical medium size French town, with an urban population of 115 000 and surrounding suburbs and close-by villages adding a further 100 000 residents. It has its own university with ten per cent students from overseas, and as well as being the departmental capital the town survives on tourism and retailing, much of it on the edge of the centre. All these factors make it a useful example to study in terms of 'average' rental prices, bearing in mind the usual cautions about no two properties being precisely the same.

The INSEE findings can be broken down as follows and covers all of the 55% rented households. Of these
- 31% live in single bedrooms up to 15m², paying a monthly rental avraging 311 euros ( a reflection of the highish student population)
Or - a studio up to 24m² at 387 euros per month; or a type T1* apartment up to 30m² at 399 euros per month

- 65% live in a T2 (up to 45m²), or a T3 (up to 65m²) at 595 euros per month, of a T4 (up to 80m²) at 678 euros per month

- just 4% of renters live in houses of more than 100m², costing an average 1,021 euros per month.

The report also notes that some 340 rented properties changed hands during 2014, indicating that there is a wide choice of rented accommodation from which to choose and renters will quickly move to somewhere cheaper or more attactive.

If you own a property you are considering letting long-term unfurnished, and live in a similar sort of town, the INSEE figures provide a working basis by which to arrive at a market rent. Bearing in mind that potential renters have access to similar information and may use it as a guide when searching, you may have to offer something a bit special if you charge a higher-than-average rental.

* Type T1, T2, T2 etc (sometimes expressed as F1 etc) basically means 1 room plus kitchen and bath, 2 rooms plus kitchen and bath, and so on. Bear in mind that many 'kitchens' are now incorporated into the main living room (sometimes described as a 'cuisine américaine'). The additional room(s) are normally bedrooms, if of a sufficient size.

Paris offices become luxury/mixed apartments

Like many other European cities, Paris is suffering from a surplus of office space, much of it created to fulfill a demand which has since reduced. A spectacular example is the 15 storey block formerly occupied by scientific laboratoriesand offices in Courbvoie on the outskirts of Paris and close to La Défense.

The huge complex has been converted into 182 apartments (some selling at an average 8000 euros per square metre), 46 studios designed as lower cost student accommodation, and 99 units designed for short-term letting and professional use. The complex also includes a supermarket and car parking, and services such as a concierge, fitness centre and 'guest rooms' that enable owners to accommodate short stay visitors such as family and friends.

The Paris/Ile de France area is estimated to have some 4 million square metres of empty office space and the Mairie de Paris is planning to convert some 200 000 square metres into housing, during the next six years. 

Renting versus buying in France

Out of 27 million 'principal residences' (excluding holiday homes) some 60% of French are owners of their home, consisting of some 15.5 million households. Of these 80% live in individual houses and the remainder in apartments. Some householders elect to rent out of choice, perhaps also owning a secondary home, while others have fewer options - including the young, those on low salaries, the old - who are obliged to rent within the private sector (nearly 60%) and the remainder in social housing, much of it built in the period after the war when huge estates - known as cités - started to appear on the outskirts of many French cities and towns.  Many of these are now considered 'problem areas' (see post below) and have created wide social divisions between rich and poor.

Those moving to France from abroad tend to be property buyers, unless their stay is intended to be short for professional reasons, such as a temporary work assignment or to complete a course of studies at advanced level. Some potential buyers may choose to rent for a short period - say one year - while they look around one or more areas before deciding where to settle and this category can include many (older) people seeking a retirement home in the sun.

Rentals are offered either on a short term basis - up to 12 months and invariably furnished, with the possibility to negotiate an extension. Houses or apartments in this category tend to be more expensive to rent than longer term unfurnished properties. An unfurnished private rental is normally for a minimum of three years, with considerable security enjoyed by the tenant, particularly if it is his/her principal home. Even defaulting on rental payments or causing nuisance or damage cannot automatically lead to a tenant's eviction - legal cases can take years to reach the courts, while there is a 'period of grace' during the winter months with yet more protections for those in old age, all of which can make eviction difficult. Potential landlords should be aware of these potential problems, mindful of corse that the vast majority of tenants behave correctly.

As in Britain and elsewhere, the French government bemoans the lack of social housing and there are long waiting lists for properties at controlled rents (known as HLM). And as noted in the posts below, government subsidies (through tax relief) to provide lower cost rental homes have generally failed.

Paris mayor targeting private apartments

The recently elected socialist mayor of Paris has revealed détails of their plans to buy individual apartments in private buildings and turn them into 'social housing'. The policy is not without its critics and among them are those voiced by FNAIM, the estate agents' Professional body, including:

- the high cost, where 'typical' social housing costs around 4500 euros per square metre, in some parts of Paris average prices are 6730 - 9000 euros per square metre.

- the problems of creating mixed occupancy apartment blocks, resulting in conflicts between private owners/renters and occupants of apartments owned by the Mairie as social housing.

- high annual charges for building maintenance and professional management, and concerns that costs will fall on private owners, while the Mairie will pay the costs of the apartments they own. Just as happened in Britain under the 'right to buy' scheme which created mixed-occupancy Council blocks.

- prices being forced down as vendors seeking to sell and retire to the warm South try to offload their property (some 8 million French 'baby-boomers' are estimated to reach retirement age over the next ten years).

As with much recent policy there are serious doubts that this one will work - like the Duflot scheme to buy up redundant buildings and convert them into social housing, which produced virtually nil results. Ironicallly, at the same moment this new policy was being announced, the sudden ban on wood burning fires in Paris was suddenly dropped after widespread protest. It seems the present government just can't get it right.

 

French property market reviving?

Despite the many problems associated with the French economy (unemployment, reduced manufacturing output, out-of-control public spending etc) there are nonetheless encouraging signs of an improvement in the property market.

According to figures released by Notaires de France, which record actual sales completed, there were 740 000 property transactions in the 12 months to end of March 2014, a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent.

Overall prices of both houses and apartments dropped by just over 1 per cent, but there were significant rises in some specific areas, showing once again that the French property market is highly fragmented and cannot be judged as a whole.

In the case of houses, highest price rises were recorded in Nimes (12.3%), Nantes (6.8%), Marseilles/Aix-en-Provence (5.5%) and Montpellier (4.5%); and for apartments - Bordeaux (12.2%), Metz (8.3%), Tours (6.4%) and Nancy (3.8%).

With the pound sterling remaining strong against the Euro, now is a good time to buy French property.