France feeling the pinch?

Published 08th Jul 2008

Is the decade-long boom in France's housing market on the verge of coming to an end?

A slew of recent surveys seem to suggest so, with figures pointing to sharply declining sales and possibly a small fall in property prices.
According to the National Notaries Index for June, average values declined by 0.8 per cent in the first three months of 2008.

The Index also recorded a sharp quarterly fall - the biggest in 10 years - in the number of sales in the Paris region, down by 7.9 per cent on the same period in 2007.
HSBC is also predicting a 4 per cent average decline in prices this year and a 6 per cent fall in 2009.

But according to estate agents Century 21, there are big regional variations, with a 6.4 per cent decline in property prices in the Loire region over the last year and a 5.9 per cent rise in Lorraine, in north-eastern France.

A spokesperson for the National Housing Federation (FNAIM), painted a more positive picture: "France has witnessed a surge in property prices on a par with neighbouring countries, with average prices doubling between 2000 and 2007.

"A buoyant construction sector has also been an important factor behind the drop in French unemployment".

Source: ' Move Channel Ltd '

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