"never been a better time" to buy french property

There has "never been a better time" to buy French property, according to estate agents.

The strong pound and weak euro are opening up a range of affordable opportunities for buyers, notes EstateNetFrance.com.

Indeed, the rouble’s severe plunge of 72 per cent against the euro between April and December 2014 has seen wealthy Russian buyers disappear in France's hotspots, such as the Riviera. Now, British buyers are taking advantage of their increased spending power to step into the gap.

"The exodus of Russian and Ukrainian residents on the Côte d’Azur in the last year or so has opened up a whole new set of property opportunities for both investors and second home buyers alike," explains the agency. "As a consequence, other nationalities, particularly the British, are starting to snap up the many high end bargains before the next influx of new money arrives."

Property sales in France to British buyers increased by 33 per cent last year, as they cashed in on a strong exchange rate and falling prices.

The OverseasGuidesCompany.com has seen demand for French property increase too. The country accounted for 22.5 per cent of all enquiries, behind Spain - the most popular eurozone destination - but enquiries for the French buying guide surged 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.

The favourable exchange rates have arrived hot on the heels of record low mortgage rates, which have also fuelled demand in the last 12 months.

Mortgage broker French Private Finance says the market has performed "exceptionally well" in the first half of 2015.

"Whilst financing options and underwriting criteria have become stricter over the past months due to the surge in lending, it is worth pointing out that once we take on a validated application, we have seen a 95% success rate so far this year," comments John Luky Busby, Private Clients Director.

Busby highlights Paris and the Alps as popular hotspots alongside the south Coast, with around €100m worth of loans either completed or to be completed by the end of the year.

"We are looking forward to an equally busy second half of the year as French banks try to get their house in order during the August period in order to cope with the new dynamic of increased applications and with the alpine season around the corner," he adds.