France: Five trends influencing the prime market
Assessing prime residential market conditions across France’s top second home destinations
1 minute to read
There are clear signs that France’s expanding wealth population, along with improving market sentiment, is translating into stronger demand for luxury property.
Paris led the charge with sales and prime prices picking up in early 2017. A year later, we saw this confidence spread to France’s regional markets, first Provence and the French Riviera, then Gascony and the French Alps. Enquiries for French homes increased by 33% and sales by 63% in 2018 year-on-year based on Knight Frank data.
This momentum and positivity has continued in 2019, with a number of record prices set in Paris and on the French Riviera in the first half of the year.
Whilst Brexit and the resulting weak pound has seen UK buyers diminish, Belgian, German and Scandinavian buyers have stepped in to fill the gap. With no currency fluctuations to consider and with Paris and Provence within a 4-hour drive for some, a second home for such buyers becomes a viable weekend retreat not just a summer getaway. This issue of accessibility is a prerequisite for most buyers.
The Eurostar line to Avignon proved a game changer when it opened in 2017, putting Provence within a 6.5 hour train ride of London St Pancras. New large-scale infrastructure projects in the form of the Grand Paris Project, the upgrading of Marseille Airport as well as the planned construction of several new high-speed train lines will also influence demand and future market performance.
Below we highlight five trends we've observed in 2019 and
