Brits are still the biggest buyers in France

A drop in the exchange rate and Brexit uncertainty has not deterred British buyers seeking a new home in France.

Research from BNP Paribas International shows that the British make up 32% of the international buyers in the French property market and are spending an average of €256,463. What’s interesting is that there were also 2,804 sales to British buyers who were already resident in France. “This makes a €2 billion market and puts pay to any fallacy of a movement back to the UK,” says Trevor Leggett, Chairman of Leggett Immobilier. “For sure we have seen a slight decrease in the number of people looking to move permanently – some are worried by the uncertainty over pensions and healthcare. However, we’ve seen a big rise in the number of Brits buying second homes, many of whom say that they have brought forward their plans recently. In the last 12 months we have seen transaction levels rise by 7.7% with 867,000 sales.” According to BNP Paribas, overall sales to international buyers stood at 17,140, similar to 2015 but well up on the 13,823 who bought in 2014. Behind the British are Belgium (15.5%) and Switzerland (7.2%). The biggest jump was in Dutch buyers who accounted for 4.8% of the market.