Over the years we have heard many reasons for people wanting to buy a house in France – from a love of our safe, sandy beaches to a lifetime desire to own a vineyard.  However, the reason that our clients give more than any other is “for the weather”.  This was emphasised further by a Global Briefing paper produced by Knight Frank earlier this month where “climate” topped a list of 10 factors given by the wealthy when choosing their second home.

Our head office is based on the edge of the Charente/Dordogne border and we thought it would be interesting to compare the hours of sunshine we have enjoyed so far this year with that seen in Great Britain.

The results were conclusive. From 1st Jan to 31st August the total hours of sunshine have been:

France (La Rochelle) – 1707 hours
England (Heathrow) – 1125 hours
Wales (Cwmystwyth) – 1099 hours
Scotland (Paisley) – 1091 hours

That works out at around two and a half extra hours of sunshine every single day of the year so far in 2011….no wonder that we have seen an increase in both enquiries and sales to UK buyers.

It’s a well known fact that our bodies create vitamin D when the sun shines and that a clear blue sky in the morning can make your spirits soar.  So, the next time you’re stuck indoors on a rainy day, gazing out at the grey sky above, why not take a browse around the 6,500 properties we are marketing  and see if you can bring a bit of sunshine into your own life!

Sources – Meteo France and the UK Met Office.

Interested in living in the Languedoc ?  Take a look at our new Languedoc Blog headed up by Peter Mathews and get a real taste of the area.

We are on stand 23 at the Olympia French property show on 23rd – 25th September 2011, please do come along and see us. For free tickets please download this invitation.

The latest report from the FNAIM shows house prices rising for the 5th consecutive quarter. The report covers the second quarter of 2011 (April – June) and is available on www.fnaim.fr.

Prices of properties sold by FNAIM members saw an average rise of 3.3% over the previous quarter with a strong rise (4.3%) in properties outside of Paris.

Trevor Leggett, Chief Executive of Leggett Immobilier, comments:

“Further headlines of house price rises need to be treated with caution. We know that the average price of property sold in France by FNAIM members has increased by 6.8% overall this year but it’s important that vendors expectation levels remain realistic.

Sensible pricing will mean that transaction levels remain consistent and both buyers and sellers will benefit.

As previously reported, Leggett Immobilier are certainly seeing an increase in enquiry levels from both local and international buyers – particularly at the top end of the market.

The new wealth tax rules coming into place are making France one of the most attractive destinations in Europe, as the threshold for this tax (ISF) is increasing from €800,000 to €1.3 million. Households with assets of between €1.3 million and €3 million will be subject to a tax of 0.25 percent and for assets over €3 million the tax will be 0.5 percent.

There has also been one recent change to the law on Capital Gains Tax.

Previously, a reduction of 10% per year, beyond the fifth year of ownership, has been applied to the gain calculated. Therefore, sales made beyond the 15th year of holding the property had been fully exempt from CGT and social security contributions.

Now though, the tax due on the sale of these “non primary” residences will be calculated in accordance with the Indice du Coût de la Construction (rate of building inflation) at the time of the sale – taking into account the year you bought the property. In essence this ensures that the natural evolution of price rises is not taxable which appears a sensible move.

This new regime will apply to sales after the 24th August 2011.

Non residents may well have to pay for an independent fiscal representative to ensure the CGT calculation is correct.

The Government are overseeing some radical tax changes to French property ownership and Leggett Immobilier aim to keep you abreast of the implications of these changes through regular updates on our website www.frenchestateagents.com.