Insights about the property market in South of France & Monaco
Spotlight on Monaco and Geneva
2024 is set to be a year of high stakes elections around the world, continuing warfare and strife, encouraging some UHNW families to consider safe havens for their residency. What are the respective merits of the Geneva and Monaco residential property markets?
To Rub or to Wring?
It seems only moments ago, yet last January, with our usual cautiously optimistic but pragmatic and reasoned approach, we wished and hoped for a "no Catch 22" new year. Well, it turned out there were some catches after all. We failed, along with many, to foresee...
CATCH 22
In "Sheer Terror", our blog published in April 2020, we did not have the confidence of the visionary. It would have been a brave prophet who foretold the future in the midst of the pandemic pandemonium. Yes, we wondered if confinement would last another three weeks,...
Emotional Rescue
The New Year is a traditional moment for businesses to send out a message, to their friends, their clients and to those who, they hope, will become clients in the future. It’s one of those things that has to be done and we are no different. These messages usually...
To be or not to be?
The latest market thoughts for Autumn 2020 Hamlet would not have made a good prime minister, nor president. He found choosing between his own life or death was too complex to cope with. How much more complicated when the choice of life or death of an economy is...
Sheer Terror
Mixed messages is today’s understatement. Are there really “green shoots” of progress in the UK, is the Swedish experiment about to fail horribly, has China misled the world about the true number of Covid deaths? Will confinement last another three weeks, three...
Skiing: a surprising bonus for Cote d’Azur lifestyle
A chalet in the Alps or a villa in the Cote d’Azur? That is the dilemma some of our clients face as they struggle to decide what their priorities are for a second home in France. It would, in an ideal world, be amazing to acquire both but budgetary constraints,...
French Property Outlook 2020
The return of optimism As we start a new decade, the world’s continuing love affair with France as a place to visit is undeniable as it attracts more visitors than any other country on earth. This is hardly surprising given the incredible depth and diversity of...
Residential Outlook 2019
‘Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose’ 2018 was certainly a year where the old French adage of ‘the more it changes, the more it stays the same’ has been entirely relevant in the context of French political life. The year started with hugely optimistic claims that...
French Residential Property 2017 review and predictions for 2018
‘Qui n’avance pas, recule’ is a life truth that is hard to argue against: ‘Who does not move forward, moves backwards’. There can be no stagnation in life, only evolution or devolution. Either one evolves or remains stagnant. Why now is the perfect time to consider...
Caveat emptor
We explore the cultural and practical differences for the British buyer in France As with so many things that define our respective national lives, the difference in approach the French take to house buying contrasts significantly with our own. It is important for...
The Exchange Rate Illusion
Why delaying a property purchase in France could be a false economy In this article we discuss the dynamics around exchange rates and borrowing costs for prospective UK property buyers in France. What has happened, how should we be looking at this and what does the...
French Property: Animal Spirits
The mood in France has changed, a sense of optimism hangs in the warm summer air that marks a significant and welcome change from the introspection of recent years. Macron has a convincing mandate as President, with fragmented parliamentary opposition. More than that,...
Old wine, new bottle?
France has elected its youngest leader since Napoléon, with a decisive 66% vote. The Macron policy agenda is seen as pro-business and pro-EU, reducing political risk in Europe. En Marche! now has a lot to deliver, five years to get on with solutions to France’s...
France without tears
The HindleBaldock A-Z guide to administrative life in France Buying a property in France is, for most people, an incredibly exciting and positive prospect. It is often the realisation of a long-held ambition or dream. French lifestyle, climate, mountains, sea, culture...
The ‘Snow-sure’ premium
We have always urged our clients to consider three primary criteria when considering a purchase in the Alps: a large well joined-up ski area, proximity to the slopes, and snow-sure credentials. For three years in a row, we’ve had a poor start to the season, yet for...
Residential Outlook and Review – January 2017
2016 has been eventful both in France and worldwide. The outrage to the terrorism in Paris, Nice and elsewhere have had an obvious effect on the French national mood and the full ramifications have yet to be played out in the political arena. The presidential...
Brexit: what now for the international property markets in France?
The people have spoken. The markets have spoken. As with all severe dislocations, there are many more questions than answers in the immediate aftermath and we are under no illusion that the ripple effect of Brexit and the inevitable adjustments will be difficult for...
UK Stamp Duty Rates: UK’s loss, France’s gain
South of FranceThe purpose of taxation is normally seen in the context of raising revenue for the Exchequer and in some circumstances changing ‘behaviour’ and social outcomes. How and on whom it is levied varies given the political hue of any given Government. Post...
BREXIT and your decision to buy in France
The current debate on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU seems to be producing more heat than light with many ‘undecided’ or ‘unsure’ voters complaining that they are unable to make an informed decision given the lack of ‘facts’. On the one hand we have...
Some market mojo returns to the Riviera…finally!
It would be an understatement to say that the property market in the Côte d’Azur and Provence have all been subdued in recent years. The idea of buying a villa in the South of France has hardly been the most pressing of priorities. A combination of the recent economic...
Monte Carlo or Bust?
As we approach May and the date for the Monaco Grand Prix it is the usual norm for property journalists to cast their gaze towards the Monaco real estate market along with the associated personalities, glitz, glamour and wealth it portrays. This heady journalistic...
Exchange rates and property values: some cautionary advice
We have seen much hyperbole across all media concerning the decline of the Euro against the Pound in recent weeks. It is undeniable that the Euro has weakened and for ‘Brits’ visiting Eurozone countries their available spending money will go that much further than has...
Opportunity knocks in the South of France
Property Market Outlook 2015 It is sometimes suggested that there must be a conflict of interest when we represent buyers in a difficult market as notional values decline. Should we not dissuade buyers from buying if we think that values might decline further? It is a...