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NOVEMBER 2008
Sales of holiday homes in France have dropped as a result of the current financial crisis – some newspapers report that the number of Brits buying homes in the Dordogne has halved recently, and Languedoc property professionals are certainly finding themselves with time on their hands.
Certainly the global stock market meltdown combined with the pound’s slump in value has put a damper on British house hunters’ dreams of owning a second home across the Channel.
Until recently, it was common for agents to report that UK nationals couldn’t get enough of French property, bagging bolt holes as retirement retreats, holiday hideaways or even permanent homes.
When the pound began its slump to the euro in November 2007, things began to go a little pear-shaped, as far as French property agents were concerned, and with the sub-prime crisis and higher credit ratings in the UK, things have gone from bad to worse, with some agencies closing down and others making redundancies.
However, in Languedoc-Roussillon, where the lure of the sunny southern French climate has long attracted the Brits and the Irish in particular (thanks in no small part to the many low-cost flights into the region), agents are putting on a brave face, claiming that current financial situation has discouraged time-wasters, meaning that sales enquiries now coming through are more serious.
Languedoc-Roussillon is an extremely popular holiday destination (it is France’s fourth most visited region, after Paris/Ile de France, Rhone-Alpes and Provence), and holiday makers like to look at houses, just for the hell of it. “If property is the porn of the middle classes, then punters are now going through a period of self-imposed censorship,” said one Languedoc property professional who asked not to be named.
However, he managed to put a positive spin on the current market: “Sure, there’s a slow up in the flow of Brits coming out to view property in Languedoc, which is common to the rest of France, but the top end of the market is holding up well. It’s a buyer’s market, so house hunters with finances already in place know they can drive a hard bargain.”
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