Low mortgage rates fuel french property rebound

Loire, France Photo: Erminig Gwenn

The French property market is continuing to rebound, according to new figures, a trend that is fuelled by the country's low mortgage rates.

The third quarter of 2015 was "particular active", says French Private Finanace, with 753,000 sales recorded in the 12 months to September 2015, 4.2 per cent higher than the same period in 2014, according to figures from French notaries.

"The French have a little more confidence in the future. And extremely low rate mortgages continue to support the trend," says Jacky Chapelot, deputy president of the FNAIM.

Prices are also starting to edge up 0.5 per cent quarter-on-year, with rises in Paris, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Toulouse offsetting declines in Marseille, Nice and other cities.

"The market remains difficult in the outskirts of small towns and in rural areas, where prices have often fallen from 10 per cent to 20 per cent and sometimes even 30 per cent," Chapelot adds.

The recovery is particularly strong in Ile-de-France, with 46,600 homes sold in the third quarter of 2015, a rise of 25 per cent year-on-year.