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?ɂİa Va for France Property Investment

As the UK's closest neighbour and a popular choice for property investment, France has always been sought-after. Home to thousands of relocators and regularly visited by hoards of holidaymakers - not for nothing is France the world's most visited country - France regularly tops overseas property investment destinations.

However, unlike many emerging property markets, buying a home in France has traditionally been almost exclusively a lifestyle purchase. The beautiful scenery, gourmet cuisine and easy access have made France a firm favourite with second home buyers with relatively little interest from those looking for hard and fast property investment. However, the latest tumble in holiday home prices and the lowest interest rates ever mean that France is now a much more interesting addition to a property investment portfolio.

Like the vast majority of European countries, France has not escaped the recession. Nor has the French property market steered clear of the slowdown. However, the situation currently faced by the property market in France is very different to the one in Spain and the UK.

While the property bubble has well and truly burst in both of France's near neighbours, property prices in France have seen a much steadier trend. Although prices in general have fallen, the mainstream property market has so far escaped the worst of the statistics. House prices generally are expected to take a fall of between 8% and 12% throughout most of the country by the end of the current property cycle, a far lower price correction than has been experienced in the UK, for example. Even in the capital, home to the most expensive real estate in France, prices are forecast to adjust downwards by only around 8%.

Outside the mainstream property market, however, things are different and some popular holiday areas have been hard hit by the property recession. Dordogne is a case in point and some experts claim prices in this popular region for property investment in France have seen falls of up to 30%. Similar stories are told in parts of the Mediterranean and Brittany. The recent rush to invest in French property at high prices has left many homeowners with negative equity now that prices have gone down.

On the other hand, a seller's loss is almost always an investor's gain and the surfeit of property on the market means that there is plenty to choose from and at knock-down prices. And despite the high price of the euro, which has made sterling investment property more expensive over the last year.

Rock-bottom interest rates and a slowly but steadily climbing pound are two further advantages for those making sterling investment in property in France. After reaching its lowest level ever against the euro earlier this year, the pound is expected to rise to around €1.25 in the near future making purchases in euros cheaper again.

The combination of cheap mortgages, more purchasing power for sterling and bargain property together with low-cost flights and ferry crossings means that a property in France is now just as much a financial investment as the chance to live la bonne vie.

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