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 valid point. That said, most potential buyers have already made that decision for themselves which is why we have seen a marked reduction in transactional volumes across all market sectors over the last few years. Yet our role and market knowledge have become an even more valuable commodity than might be the case in a bull market.
The reasons people buy in our region are often complex and are rarely based on purely economic grounds. In our experience most sensible buyers take a long term view and welcome our advice on current values as well as our opinion on location, condition and all the other elements involved in purchasing high-end property in France. There is always an element of falling in love when buying a house in our market and it is often the result of a long held ambition. Market conditions do not always hold that ambition in check.
So what has this got to do with our market in 2015?
We may well be jumping the proverbial gun but we feel bullish about market conditions.
We believe that continued downside risk to values is limited. It is still very much a buyer’s market with plenty of opportunity for the canny purchaser. We think that buying a ‘best of breed’ property, irrespective of price range, that has had the appropriate due diligence and is negotiated at a ‘sensible’ price will prove a good buy. These are the market conditions where one never accepts compromises or second best options. Doing one’s homework and negotiating hard are tactics that will pay dividends in the medium to long term. Fortune may well favour the brave but it also favours the well informed just as well.
These market conditions won’t last for ever. The opportunities to buy sensibly in this part of the world are historically few and far between. 2015 may well be the year when that opportunity knocks.