Great article from Property Newsroom this week regarding the French property market. The property market is currently very busy in France, partly down to recent tax changes made by President Macron.
The article is a result of an interview with Home Hunts director, Tim Swannie and include quotes such as:
“France is well and truly on the map for the international buyer. Each area of France is different of course but for us the prime property markets are the busiest they have been for many years! Paris saw an average increase of around 12% last year and demand currently outstrips supply by a long way. Other areas such as the French Riviera, Provence, Languedoc and the French Alps are also seeing unprecedented levels of interest from both French and international buyers. We are getting a large amount of interest from the UK at present, particularly those who are looking to relocate before leaving the EU in March 2019 -the UK government have guaranteed UK citizens who are living in Europe before that date will have their EU rights guaranteed so this is a huge factor in the decision to relocate. The French tax changes are having a really positive impact on this for us too, particularly from clients who have been deciding between France and Spain or Italy for example. They are also wanting to buy now in case the pound loses a lot of value after March next year. We are also getting a lot of enquiries from French nationals who live overseas and are looking to relocate back to France, and a lot of interest from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries as well as the Middle East, USA and further afield. We have never had a busier start to a year since we launched the company nearly 15 years ago.”
The article goes on to quote this too:
“The changes are making France more attractive to wealthy non-French as a permanent base. With the previous tax regime, wealth tax for French residents was charged on worldwide assets whereas second home owners who were not tax residents in France were only charged wealth tax on their assets in France (which was usually made up largely from your French property anyway). The tax thresholds have remained the same so their non-property assets in France will no longer be included. Macron and his government have been very clever here, their goal is to attract the wealthy to France (this includes wealthy French families who have previously chosen to relocate to other countries, partly because of the wealth tax system). This is not only aimed to have a positive impact on the property market but the longer term goal is to boost business and the job market throughout France too.”