french property statistics

The property market in Europe in general appears to be stabilizing relative to the U.S. market, which appears to be in a bit of a crisis because of the subprime lending market. We have seen a significant slowdown in the Spanish real estate market and the UK market seems to have lost most of the steam now. This is likely to be pervasive in the coming years, in contrast to 2004 when all projections have the same thing today are the interest rates which are significantly higher than the prices and the introduction of mortgages in the UK are also slowed, while house repossessions rise. The effect is likely to stabilize the property market with minimal capital and growth in some parts of the United Kingdom itself falls. imposition of a mortgage in the U.S., Spain and Britain was always been relatively easy, as when compared to France so that a sub-prime crisis, as we are witnessing in the U.S. is highly unlikely, in France. French legislation on collateral values dictate that the mortgage applicant must be earning at least three times their monthly mortgage costs after taking account of all other loans. This means that although the people are refused finance more often in France and the procedure for obtaining a loan, it can often feel tedious actually benefit the economy and its owner, the long term.

The new president Nicolas Sarkozy has clearly stated its desire that the French economy reach its full potential if it has failed to do so in the past. He would also like to order in France a nation of homeowners like Margaret Thatcher during her time in power in Britain. In France, only 57% of the population currently own at home compared to 70% in the UK and an impressive 84% in Spain show there is much room for growth here. He intends to meet his dream of achieving a number of economic and fiscal reforms, which are likely to promote trade and economic activity. These changes are not limited to, the following --

1) extension of the 35-hour week

2) Significant reduction in the amount of inheritance tax and also exempt the spouses

3) allow mortgage interest on your principal residence to offset tax

4) A shift from direct taxes (eg income tax) to indirect taxes (such as VAT and ecotax) with the result that a tax break of 4%

The impact of all these, the demand for real estate and the propensity to invest in real estate in the long run. By itself it does not mean prices will rise, but when you consider that there is a shortfall of 400,000 homes real estate in France every year about this offer and demand for care is to have a positive impact on property prices.

Niclas Dowlatshahi is the managing director of Leapfrog Properties, an agency which specializes in selling real estate in France. Visit http://www.leapfrog-properties.com to see how we can help.