[TonyB]

I've owned a house in the Herault department of the Languedoc for a couple of years. I had intended to keep it for a few years but in recent months I have become more and more disturbed by reports that prices there are peaking and indeed falling!

I was out there in December and two agents agreed that prices cannot go up any more and a fall is due.

This is mainly due to supply and demand working against the price: demand has dropped due to UK investors (the Place in the Sun crowd) holding back due to the jitters in their own housing market, and secondly a huge increase in the supply of renovated village houses in that region of France. When I was looking two years ago there was very little good property around, which fuelled the continuing price rises.

As I still work in the UK I look on the house as an investment and cannot afford to have a depreciating asset, especially as all my money is tied up in it (no mortgage). I've had it valued and I will make modest profit on it, so I think sadly it's time to sell.

Does anyone else have any insight into property in the south of France?

[letitcomedown]

I live in the Aude valley a bit further south. Around this way I've yet to see any price falls, and last time I looked in any detail (November) prices were still going up, but there has definitely been a large increase in the supply of "village" houses in various states of disrepair, usually with no garden or land. Unfortuantly what everyone seems to be looking for - good habitable old stone house with some land somewhere near civilization but not near a main road - is still rare and expensive.

We've met in the last couple of months a whole load of Belgians, Dutch, Americans and Brits moving over permanently though, more seems to be renting than before while they look for the dream property above! The bank manager we saw last week (opening a local account) said lots of brits still coming over, usually with some half arsed business plan they want finance for. But to me it looks like the frenzy over property from the Brits has died down to some degree.

Also there has been a increase in the number of locals buying property, there are new laws to give a certain amount of mortgage interest free under some conditions.

Are you by the cost or inland? What sort of property?

[TonyB]

letitcomedown, on Feb 20 2005, 04:47 PM, said:

Are you by the cost or inland? What sort of property?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi, thanks for your response. It's in the village of Neffies, very near Pezenas which is the local big town, 30 mins from Beziers and 40 mins from the coast.

It would probably sell very quickly as it's a traditional village house which I have totally renovated inside and out - new facade, rewired and re-plumbed, new tiling, three new bathrooms etc! Four bedrooms in total. If you hear of anyone who might be interested let me know! The village is also sought after - one of the few with its own decent restaurant.

Outside space: no garden but it does have a courtyard and a separate terrace (about 10m x 10m) with a great view.

Ideally I'd sell it privately in order to dodge the immobilier fees - I know in theory the buyer pays the fee but it still comes out of the advertised price, so in reality it's the same.

The problem is that I have to be there to show the house, unless I can find someone to do it for me for a small fee!

Do you work in France or do you commute back to the UK?

[letitcomedown]

Sounds like a nice place. Most of the people I've meet are looking for the Aude though, I believe prices are a bit cheaper down here, the Bezier area is supposed to be completely insane.

As regards someone to do showings, have you tried your neighbours, or www.livingfrance.com ? For a private sale, you can put a classified on www.the-languedoc-page.com (peter who runs it lives in the languedoc and is a mine of useful information too, and he posts here).

>Do you work in France or do you commute back to the UK?
I work remotely from here for a multinational and get paid out of the french office, it works out pretty well for me. I pop back a few times a year. It enabled me to move out here now rather than wait for retirement.

Regardless of what happens to house prices in LR - and even though I'm a firm UK bear I am still undecided about prices here as my post has indicated - the space and land I have here is pretty huge, and costs less than a 1 bed flat in the home counties where I came from, AND the mortgage rate is much lower.

[mpprh]

Hi

What a nice chap that letitcomedown is. And perceptive !

A few background points from my part of Languedoc :

There were a lot of Brit buyers, but still a minority overall.

The market here is slow. It is difficult to say if prices are coming down - people are in denial and asking for unrealistic prices.

Perhaps, in truth, the market stabilised a while ago and it has taken time for sellers to adjust their price expectations ?

Agents have stopped talking about lack of products, winter blues, too high prices and now say "we don't see many customers"

There are stories of agencies closing & laying off staff.

Hard to tie this in exclusively with the UK market. The Parisian invasion (following the TGV arrival and the 35hr week) seems to have faded, the German economy is not good, and I don't seem to see as many Dutch, Belgian, Swiss cars about as in the past.

In the villages, prices were fuelled by limited availability of land, and a return to the villages by French families worried about inner city problems.

The costs of exchange and fairly stable mortgage costs have historically limited boom & bust in the French property market. The recent price boom is pretty unusual. It is not limited to Languedoc, but widespread across France.

New builds are still very active in my area despite the increased land cost.

Regards

Peter

[letitcomedown]

>What a nice chap that letitcomedown is. And perceptive !
Thank you!

I saw this today, registration might be necessary to read it. http://www.ladepeche...3161060&Rub=011

Basically, Limoux in the Aude had the highest growth of any town in France by price per metre squared, +35% last year. Carcassone +2.9%. Local estate agents doubt the figure is that high. Reasons given are zero-rate loans, longer mortgages, French retirees and foreign (most English and Irish) holiday home owners. The deputy maire said the figures showed the current vitality of the town.

[jmpoure]

Dear all,

Real-estate is entering a depression in France. Read more on Bulle immobilière (French) or Bulle immobilière (English)

Kind regards,
Jean-Michel Pouré

[letitcomedown]

I've seen quite a few signs of activity in the last few weeks, sold signs in the estate agents, English and French removal vans arriving, people obviously house hunting with Immo (=property) magazines and property details sitting in cafes. Not as many as two years ago but a lot more than last year. The properties that are selling seem to be wrecks < 50k euros or larger properties with land >250 k euros. The village houses without land don't seem to be selling.

[mpprh]

letitcomedown, on May 16 2005, 08:00 PM, said:

I've seen quite a few signs of activity in the last few weeks, sold signs in the estate agents, English and French removal vans arriving, people obviously house hunting with Immo (=property) magazines and property details sitting in cafes. Not as many as two years ago but a lot more than last year.  The properties that are selling seem to be wrecks < 50k euros or larger properties with land >250 k euros. The village houses without land don't seem to be selling.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, same in my area.

Several properties have been added to my free classifieds recently.

And I've been in contact with half a dozen wanabee expats over the last few weeks, and three of them have bought properties in the Euro 300,000 range.

We don't seem to have any < Euro 50k wrecks left these days !

Peter

[letitcomedown]

Odd. I've had two emails tonight from people who want to visit and come look at property, one as a holiday home one permanent. I have absolutely nothing to do at all with the property industry here, maybe I should do.

Properties less than 50k in my area here: www.hdcimmo.com or here: http://www.immo-sud.com/pagev1.htm

A scary thing about French property is how bad some of the "habitable" properties actually are, the photos usually are very misleading.

Peter, do these wannable expats have places to sell in the UK? how are they doing sales wise.

[mpprh]

letitcomedown, on May 17 2005, 10:25 PM, said:

Peter, do these wannable expats have places to sell in the UK? how are they doing sales wise.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi

Two were already French based : not sure about the other one.

I'm not involved in selling property, other than through the classifieds on my website. I also get emails from potential buyers. There seems to be some interest in this area from Ireland, NZ and USA.

I've talked to other couples this week. One has just downsized in London and already had a small house here, and the other couple are upsizing in UK, but can't sell their own UK property.

Peter

[southernrob]

Hello there,

Well I sold a wreck in Gabian for 29000 euros last week, so.... there are still some bits and bobs about under 50k.

Tony, please get in touch with me, I was asking Kevin of Jane and Kevin if they knew who owned the house you are selling, because I might very well have a buyer for you.

Otherwise, the market, well it has slowed down yes. On one of my sites I have got 4 BnBs in Caux all for sale at the moment. There's a French Marchand des Biens I know who has been looking for a deal, he says most of the sellers he has seen recently have been Brits.

Traditionally the market down here has been slow and patchy, it is only over the last three to four years that it has flamed and everyone and their grandma chucked every old unused family owned house onto the fire. So when demand cooled a bit after the outbreak of the Irak war, the supply was also limited as all the slack surplus houses had already been sold. Prices stayed up and even continued to climb a bit. Bur now that effect is wearing off and, unless we see a return to pre Irak levels of tourism down here, prices on the bigger places are going to stagnate and possibly dive.
Those who bought expecting to use summer lets as a partial mortgage payer, have felt the pinch over the last couple of years, and this year is seeing just a 5% hike over last year in rentals which is nothing. Ive got owners offering 20% and 30% discounts on high season lets and still not filling .......

Smaller properties and building plots will definitely hold their own in the face of the Languedoc population explosion forecast to conntinue over the next 15 years. The Languedoc has just put together an ambitious project called 'Renover Louer', if I remember, which will give owners in certain communities grants of up to 60% of the renovation costs to bring a village house up to letting standard. The house then has to be rented out at a rent not exceeding a given level, but it is quite reasonable, for a minimum of 9 years, and this rent is index linked.. The department effectively garantees the rent, the renters get special allocations and part of their rent paid for them for moving into one of these properties.
At the end of the 9 years it is easy to get free posession and you have nice capital growth. better to wait for 16 years though to avoid capital gains.

Montagnac is one of the selected communes and i am just waiting to find out if a total ruin there would qualify.
Best,
Rob
But Tony can you mail me please on rob@frenchpropertyco.com, thanks.

This post has been edited by southernrob: 18 May 2005 - 05:47 PM

[TonyB]

[quote name='southernrob' date='May 18 2005, 06:19 PM']
Hello there,

Well I sold a wreck in Gabian for 29000 euros last week, so.... there are still some bits and bobs about under 50k.

Tony, please get in touch with me, I was asking Kevin of Jane and Kevin if they knew who owned the house you are selling, because I might very well have a buyer for you.

Hi Rob, I'll drop you an email right now.

Tony

[southernrob]

Unless it was you Tony offering me a hanbag
<<Congrats Rob You've been selected to participate in our 'Free*Designer Handbag promotion.
To claim Burberry or Coach handbag, Go Here>>
it has nor come through.
Best,
Rob
PS i have sent you a private message here in the forum with my tel no.

[TonyB]

southernrob, on May 18 2005, 07:09 PM, said:

Unless it was you Tony offering me a hanbag
<<Congrats Rob You've been selected to participate in our 'Free*Designer Handbag promotion.
To claim Burberry or Coach handbag, Go Here>>
it has nor come through.
Best,
Rob
PS i have sent you a private message here in the forum with my tel no.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Rob,

Sorry, phone rang so I haven't done the email yet. I've picked up your pm so I will phone you instead.

Tony