Property for Sale France | Real Estate for Sale France - Sotheby's International Realty France (2024)

FAQs

What is the best property website in France? ›

Fees and taxes

There are no restrictions for foreign investors buying a house in France, even non-residents. All investors need is a French bank account and a valid ID. Besides your deposit, you can also expect to pay notaire's fees.

The French property market has proved to be remarkably resilient to the Covid-19 health crisis, with property prices forecast to continue rising by +3.5% during 2022. High rental yields - taking advantage of the unique high rental yields in the South of France, your investment will pay off within 15 years.

The massively reduced number of property sales in 2023 has led to a buyers' market of falling prices in most areas of France, according to a new industry report.

The relatively sparsely populated departments in Central France (Creuse, Vienne, Haute Vienne, Indre, Cher, Allier and Loiret) have traditionally been the cheapest places to buy property in France.

But in a country famous for complex bureaucracy, it is easy to make mistakes – especially if you have rose-tinted glasses. From unfamiliar taxes to septic tanks, succession law and now visas, it is a minefield for the nouvelles arrivées. Here, the experts pick 10 things to beware of when buying or relocating.

Once you have bought your dream home in France If you would like to relocate to France or visit for longer than 90 days you will require a visa, which is easy to obtain once you are the owner of a French property. You may wish to apply for a Long stay visa valid for residence (VLS-TS).

Depending on your purpose, you will be eligible for a job, study, family reunion, or other French visas. If you're a non-EU citizen and you plan to stay in France for longer than 90 days, you will likely require a Long Stay Visa to be eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit.

French mortgage lenders cater to both residents and non-residents. If you're considering obtaining a mortgage in France, familiarising yourself with the requirements and considerations involved is crucial. Foreign buyers can access credit from French banks, although they may encounter additional requirements.

Therefore you don't need a French bank account until just before you close on the sale - 3 to 4 months after getting an accepted offer. A French account is necessary for direct debits for electricity, telephone, interenet and home insurance at a minimum.

Is it difficult for an American to buy property in France? ›

You may be happy to know France does not currently have restrictions against buying property as a foreigner. However, the process may be trickier for you than for French residents. You will have to deal with a lot of due diligence and paperwork. A French property lawyer can assist with this.

Firstly, the property market has been growing steadily for the last 5 years and has shown remarkable resilience, even despite 2 Covid-19 confinements. Secondly, the French economy is forecast to rebound strongly in 2023 with GDP growing by +4.2% , following a healthy +6.8% recovery during 2022.

Supply V Demand

In Normandy there are enough houses to meet demand (unlike the South East of England) for the amount of people and surface area. We cannot say the same for the larger French cities eg Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes etc and these will come at a premium, much as you would expect in any major city the world.

“The French economy held up in the fourth quarter, but domestic demand slowed — both for household consumption and investment and for business investment. Overall, this suggests the economy is still struggling in the face of tight financing conditions.

Additionally, the fact that mechanisation, which arrived relatively late in France, meant farms could operate with fewer people, helped push even more people into the cities. Many rural properties were either left empty, or used only as holiday homes. With lots of supply and little demand, prices fell.

http://Seloger.com comes pretty close. My favorite resource to find real estate opportunities is Logic Immo , with a nationwide presence/coverage. Don't forget that France allows direct buyer-seller transactions, and those tend to be listed on the French Craigslist equivalent: Le Bon Coin .

Finding a property in France. You can pick up local property magazines or visit local realtors (agents immobiliers) to find properties for sale. However, some people rent and sell properties without going through agencies (a process known as particulier à particulier) – these offers are available on the pap.fr website.

You can normally find lots of adverts for houses to rent on such sites as www.leboncoin.fr or www.seloger.com or in local newspapers or even by seeing publicity notices hung directly on the properties themselves ("A Louer"). The main advantage of this approach is that it is normally quick to arrange the rental.