Econmonists at HSBC in France have just released the findings of a recent study which suggests the new build market in France may be a good place to put your money for medium to long-term investment.

__________________
Gerry O'NEILL
http://www.premierfrenchproperty.com
Mobile: +33 6 31 44 32 97 Office: +33 5 53 22 53 80

It doesn't sound like the next few months are a good time to invest if prices are expected to drop 4% in 2008 and then another 6% throughout 2009. In fact the title of that article appears to contradict everything written within!

Phillip.

Thank you for your feedback.

The message of the article is simply that the price of new build property in France dropping at a faster rate than older properties.

I suppose the point is that, retrospectivley, a new build bought today is a bargain, and yes, may not be when compared to prices that HSBC say are expected throughout 2009. Who knows?

__________________
Gerry O'NEILL
http://www.premierfrenchproperty.com
Mobile: +33 6 31 44 32 97 Office: +33 5 53 22 53 80

A price reduction on a property in a market that is rising is a bargain. An across the board price drop on properties that are expected to plummet in price for the next couple of years is not a bargain. You wait a couple of years until the over-supply has been soaked up, and there starts to be more demand than supply. You then buy at the bottom of the curve and watch the value of your investment rise. I personally would not recommend buying French new build at the moment.

Phillip.

All indications are that prices will fall by around 10% from now until 2010. They are not "expected to plummet". The effect, according to analysts, will be a correction, not a crash. For all sorts of reasons, France wil not see the market drop to the same extent as it has done in the US, Ireland and Spain. Currenty demand remains high with the French market considerably more stable than the majority of its European neighbours.

__________________
Gerry O'NEILL
http://www.premierfrenchproperty.com
Mobile: +33 6 31 44 32 97 Office: +33 5 53 22 53 80

Ok the word plummet may be over-stated, but that does not answer the question of why you would invest now in new build when it is expected to fall by 10% over the next couple of years? It does not seem to make sense to me as an investor. Surely a good time to look at buying a French new build would be 2010?

Phillip.