Waves in the UK/US vis a vis Paris

A client coming to purchase property wrote to me yesterday; "Susie - has there been anything in the French press about the waves in the British and U.S. property markets recently and whether it may or may not affect the French market? What are your views?"

Voilà mon reponse.......
We haven’t felt ructions in Paris and don’t expect too. Frankly the city is in just such another league that it is not affected by theses ups and down. Paris is right up there as a great bargain in comparison with other world capitals such as New York City (more on this soon) and London. Prime Central London, where 120m2 super-luxury apartments can cost £1,170,000 or £9,750 per m² (in Euro: €1,742,656, or €14,522 per m2). Apartments of 120m2 in other luxury areas of Central London are likely to cost £580,000 or £4,833 per m2 (€863,880 or €7,199m²). A 120m2 apartment in Paris has an average purchase price of €800,000 (€6,667 per m2). We WILL catch up and it’s still a great time to get your Parisian pad.

Parisian property is a great investment and here you can still afford to buy into the historic centre, which is heavily protected - there is almost no new residential development due to a lack of available land and tight planning restrictions. Paris is the number 1 most visited city in the world and a strong business and study centre for Europe. While domestic demand may increase over the next a general rise in property prices could make buying in tourist areas dearer as time goes on.

Prices are have risen overall by 11% over the last few years and much more in certain areas. France’s new President Nicolas Sarkozy's bold moves to reduce taxes and encourage home ownership, mean a strong future for the property market. By stimulating growth - which should then help reduce unemployment - as well as putting more money in the pockets of those who do work longer, the growth in wealth will place an increasing number of people in a position to invest in property in France. With this, will come increases in property values.