French market gets its bounce back

Many prospective purchasers have held back during the recession but Charles Smallwood (now celebrating his 50th year in the estate agency profession) has enjoyed an unexpected and somewhat inspiring run of sales with 16 properties sold since the beginning of April this year.

As Charles explained: “An average of one sale a week over the four months period is almost getting back to the good old days”. Most sales have fallen into a price bracket of between €150,000 and €350,000 and most buyers are benefiting from the bargains that are currently available. The agency, Agence L’Union, has sold four village/town houses with gardens at prices ranging from €125,000 to €156,500 and five more substantial properties, ranging from a former school house with four bedrooms plus small swimming pool at €215,000 to a restored 18th-century convent with heated swimming pool at €374,000.

There aren’t a huge amount of houses coming onto the market at the moment – but quite a number of well-restored village/townhouses with outside space have just come up for sale – a formula that many buyers are seeking these days.