Character property from FPA
Coming on the back of recent surveys showing that mortgage demands for properties in France are on the rise, a new survey now reveals that France is the top choice in Europe if you are looking for quality of life.
Alistair Lockhart, Sales & Marketing Manager, FPA The French Property Agents comments, “It comes as no surprise to those of us living and working in France, that the country should top a quality of life poll. The French have a different attitude to lifestyle, placing security and a good balance between work and leisure time ahead of pure monetary factors. The French in essence work to live, while the Brits live to work! Health and welfare are priorities in a country where there is still plenty of land and space and population density on average is low. President Sarkozy himself has recently championed a revolutionary way for the world to measure a country's performance, so quality-of-life issues such as the environment, leisure time and health share the same stage with hard economic growth data.”
The poll* found that people in the UK earn more money but have a worse quality of life than many of their European counterparts. Long working hours, lower holiday entitlement and a high cost of living contributed to Britain's bottom place ranking in a survey of 10 countries. The UK had the highest net household income - £35,730 a year, more than £10,000 above the European average. However, most of it was spent on bare essentials such as mortgage or rent payments, food and other necessities. The UK had the lowest number of holiday days a year and paid the most for diesel and food.
Alistair Lockhart continues, “France has a stable housing market with no historic peaks and troughs. The concept of a property ladder is only just beginning to take hold in France – young French people, who five years ago would have seen renting as their only option are now looking to get on that ladder. They are seeing property as a long term capital growth proposition and the government is making it easier for first time buyers to reach the first rung. This is great news for the rest of the property market as it will stimulate demand and growth.”
Alistair Lockhart ends, “Prices now in France, especially in popular areas, do seem to be bottoming out and we are receiving plenty of buyer enquiries from UK clients. Because prices at the moment are more realistic we are noticing a great deal of interest from US and UK investors. September and October have been very busy months for FPA, with an increase in the number of houses going on the market and good mortgage deals available. We are predicting that prices will rise by the back end of 2010, so now is definitely the time to buy and experience the French quality of life.”
Buyers interested in finding out more about buying in France should contact FPA The French Property Agents on 0845 303 7385 (lo-call number direct from UK) or (France) 00 33(0) 5 53 63 35 06; email info@thefrenchpropertyagents.com Check out their website www.thefrenchpropertyagents.com with over 1,000 properties for sale, new properties added daily.
*The poll commissioned by uSwitch.com compared 17 factors, including net income, taxes, the cost of essential goods, working hours, holiday entitlement and life expectancy.
Note to Editors:
1. FPA The French Property Agents is a fully registered and independent Anglophone French estate agency in France with over 30 years experience in the French property market.
2. FPA is a licensed French estate agent, not an introductory agent, not a company based in the UK, nor an internet portal.
3. FPA, as a licensed French estate agent, charges standard agent fees with no extra “handholding/
4. Members of FNAIM, the largest National Association of French Estate Agents, FPA is fully insured and registered.
5. FPA has an expanding team of over 20 fully licensed sales agents, covering popular regions of France.
6. The FPA website www.thefrenchpropertyagents.com currently has over 1,000 properties and is added to daily. Services include full information provided on the whole buying and selling process including New Build and investment projects; full search and selection; preplanned visits with trained, language-competent, registered and insured sales agents; full translation of FPA sales documents; assistance and help with loans, mortgages and currency transactions along with finding builders and architects.
7. The FPA service package includes after-sales service for customer peace of mind.
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