French property sales surge 36 per cent

French property sales have surged by more than a third in 2015, according to agents. Traditional buyers have returned to the country this year, driven by the strong pound and low mortgage rates.

Estate agent Leggett Immobilier describes the market as "more vibrant" than last year, thanks to growing confidence in the market, particularly among Brits with their boosted spending power. Indeed, according to BNP Paribas, Brits accounted for 32 per cent of property sales of French properties to foreign nationals, up from 24 per cent last year.

The low mortage rates, meanwhile, mean that French property appeals to a broad range of buyer types across varying professions and age groups: the over 50s sector has significantly rebounded in 2015, suggesting increased confidence in those nearing retirement age that France represents a solid choice for maximising benefits of their pension long-term. In the first half of 2015, mortgage option uptake has increase 106 per cent, adds Leggett.

The figures confirm a positive trend for the French property market throughout the year. During the spring, developer MGM reported that British buyers had bought a third of apartments in an off-plan luxury development in Chamonix.

Résidence Cristal de Jade, which is expected to be the first ever five-star résidence de tourisme in the French Alpine ski resort, will comprise three traditionally-styled four-storey chalets together containing 56 apartments when completed in 2016. Only around 20 remained available to buy within a year of the project's announcement, reported Richard Deans of MGM’s UK sales office in London’s West End.

For Leggett, momentum has continued to build, with total completed sales over the year to date now up 36 per cent compared to the same period in 2014. With a 2015 turnover projection of 9.5 million Euros, the agent says the rest of the year looks "certain to maintain the upward curve".