House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms - what on earth!

House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms

This ridiculous headline sits atop a story on todays This is Money site, you can see the full article here.

"....there was better news for those who have bought second homes in France, with house prices in the country actually rising by 9.5% during 2010.

The more conservative French mortgage market means that house prices have been hit less hard by the credit crunch than in some other countries".

As someone who lives & breathes the French property market the thought that the UK press are calling it "booming" seems too stupid for words.  Yes, it may well be picking up but to call it a boom is simply unreal.

Hype like this may well be great fodder for the London dinner party circuit but it does nothing to help us poor souls who make our living in France.  The local agents have enough trouble getting vendors to put houses on at a sensible price as it is.  Over priced houses will lead to lower transaction numbers and a stalling market....no thanks.

You can see the Knight Frank press release here.  I have no idea where they got the 9.5% rise figure from but it's surely skewed by the central Paris market and isn't indicative of the other 94 departments in the country.

If you want to see some useful stats on the market then look at the Notaires figures and "drill down" to the department you're interested in.

Any sensible commentator will tell you that France is a series of hundreds of different markets and that the totality may well see some small growth in house prices this year but it's likely to be at or below inflation levels.

So please all you sub-editors and headline writers out there.....don't hype our market.

www.cognacproperty.com

French holiday homes - is it "le recovery"....The Guardian 26/3/11

There's a nice story in The Guardian this morning which I'm delighted to say features a couple of quotes from yours truly.

Written by respected journalist Graham Norwood the sub-head is "Britons who own a French holiday home have had to weather a much gentler downturn than in Spain – and house prices may now be on the up".

You can read the full story here.

I'm not convinced that we are going to see substantial changes in price (in either direction) anytime soon over here but I definitely stand by my quotes that transaction numbers of international buyers are on the increase again. 

I think that we may see a small, single digit, increase in prices reported for 2011 but as I have said so many times before stats like this are pretty meaningless.

France is a series of hundreds (if not thousands) of micro markets and scientific valuation techniques are non existent.  The owner says how much they want and the agents add their fees on.

If you're thinking of buying in France then for goodness sake take the advice of someone who lives, works and breathes in their local market.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for a few of the 1,130,000 Guardian readers to get on the phone and brief me to find them a holiday home in the Charente!

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking at houses for sale in Cognac? Don't miss the boat....

This entry is inspired by an article I'm writing for the excellent French Magazine (available in all good newsagents price £3.99).

In my last article for them (March/April edition) I was giving some general tips on buying & selling property in France.  This next piece though will be a more specific "call to arms".

You see I'm writing this on the back of having helped clients find, and have offers accepted on, two absolutely spectacular properties in the last couple of weeks.

Both houses had been on the market for a fair while and I feel that we have bought both at an excellent price.  On one of them I know that the owner has since had agents knocking on their door saying that they have clients lined up should the sale fall through.

I know that I'm a small "one man band" and not a particularly useful reference point for how busy the market is but I have plenty of searches to do over the coming months.

I also talk to plenty of local notaires and agents and the general consensus seems to be that I'm not alone in my thinking.

The upshot is that if you've been thinking of buying a property in France then there are many indicators showing that now is a good time to be doing so.  The Notaires de France seem to think so, the FNAIM definitely thinks so and if I lick my finger and stick it in the air I'm inclined to agree with them.

He who hesitates misses the boat and gets stuck at Dover....

www.cognacproperty.com

Gareth Bale animation

I don't often put posts in about my beloved Tottenham Hotspur as I'm aware that it could well put off potential clients who follow any other teams.

This animation was simply too magical not to be shared though.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Top 10 things I love about our life in the Charente

I've just finished reading the Chris Evans book "Memoirs of a fruitcake".  I happen to think that he's a broadcasting genius who pretty much invented the format that all breakfast shows now seem to take.

He starts each chapter with a top 10 listing and it got me to thinking about the aspects of my life here in rural SW France that I most enjoy.  Some of them would be possible in the UK too.....just sadly not if you happen to be commuting up to the West End with the senior partner of a leading property consultancy demanding his pound of flesh each day.

So here goes:

10. The weather.  It's the 2nd sunniest part of France and that little yellow ball in the sky tends to make me happy.

9. The landscape.  What's not to like about rolling hills full to bursting with vines & sunflowers.

8. Reading L'Equipe each morning in my local café...and teasing the owner about the rugby when England win.

7. The schooling.  So far so good - sadly the girls are saddled with my DNA (and subsequent lack of academic ability) but the schooling is excellent and they're thriving.

6. The dinner parties.  Beef from the Limousin, wine from Bordeaux and the company of some of the friendliest people on earth.  It helps that a few of them own their own vineyards!

5. My job.  Driving through the vines and coming across houses that have stood proudly for hundreds of years.  What's not to like?

4. Being able to eat a sandwich outside in my garden that costs a few centimes to make, rather than raiding "pret a manger" and paying fifteen quid to eat lunch while reading two page memos.

3. Cognac town itself.  Blues festival, lunch at Chez Claude, walking along the river, going to the cinema on a rainy Saturday in winter, taking the kids ice skating....it's a charming town and I love it more each day I live here.

2. That we eat together "en famille".....every single night of the week.

1. The fact that I know the names of all the children in my youngest daughters class and most of them in my eldest daughters too.  I've even been known to take the odd hooky day to go on day trips out with the school.

Sorry if this comes across as "smug" at all....it's not meant to.  Without the experience & money I gained over those 20 years in London then the move wouldn't have been possible.

I just wanted to share some of the best bits about life out here and say that if you're at all tempted to quit the ratrace and do the same thing then it truly can work.

www.cognacproperty.com

Some other great French property blogs....

Fresh on the back of being shortlisted in three of the four awards run by Primelocation for property blogs I reckon that my friends at FrenchEntrée should run a similar awards scheme for blogs about French property.

There are plenty of good ones about and to get the ball rolling take a look at some of these:

Let's start with "A view from the foothills of France" where Nadia Jordan combines crisp prose with some stunning photography.  Her post "All in a days work" about a hooky day off work certainly made me jealous.

Take a look also at "Half way down on the left hand side" which gets my vote for the title alone. Val Walmsley is just setting out in the world of blogging but will be one to watch.

Rebecca Russell is a seasoned professional (it's a compliment Rebecca, don't shoot me) and this shows if you read her musings on "Cote Abode" - want to know about life and property in Nice then this is the place to go.

Just a short way along the coast in Provence you will find Neil Ranadé and "Provence property connections" - his posts are always thoughtful and well written - take a look at his writings about art in Provence.

"A word from Calvados" is another that I like - Janine posts infrequently but her thoughts are always worthwhile hearing and accompanied by interesting snapshots.

I have mentioned before that I follow Alison Morton's blog "Loire Thouet property search" - not the catchiest of titles but a real goldmine of information and written in a very professional manner.

Finally, if you still have time before you get back to work, take a look at "Perpignan Post" where Caroline Hill gives us an insight into her life down near the Spanish border.

So there we have it....a magnificent seven if ever I saw one.  Why not take a stroll around some of them and say hello.

I probably should disclose my interest here in that they're all colleagues of mine in the FrenchEntrée property finder network but, hey, you trust me by now surely.

www.cognacproperty.com

Education in the Charente - Monty Python style

Earlier this year our President, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared that he wanted French children to learn "the language of Shakespeare" from the age of three.  Since coming to power he's been encouraging schools and colleges to embrace English and most of my French friends with children think this is a jolly good thing.

So, a couple of weeks ago my eldest (age 11) was very excited to learn that she was going on a class trip to the cinema to see an English film with French sub titles - she had been told that it was a classic comedy.

When she got back I asked her what she thought:

"Well, it was a bit gory and all the French kids kept laughing in the wrong places because the sub titles didn't follow the plot at all - but at least all the boys now know a new selection of English swear words and are having great fun in the playground"

Turns out they'd been taken to see Monty Python & the Holy Grail.  Certificate 15 and pretty difficult for an 11 year old English girl to understand the 35 year old, offbeat, sense of humour let alone a class full of French kids who have only just got to grips with the correct spelling of "Tuesday" or "February".

Having God represented by an animated version of WG Grace for example is unlikely to strike too much of a chord in a country where cricket ranks below conkers as a national sport.

Hmmm - 10/10 for the idea sir but 2/10 for the execution.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente property - some fine examples

I'm often reminded by my colleague Guy (MD of FrenchEntrée) that photos of lovely properties for sale are one of the best ways of attracting visitors to a website or blog.  He should know as his website gets around 1.5 million page views every month!

People in the industry call it "property porn".

Sadly, as a buying agent, I find properties "to order" for my clients and I don't sell houses.  This means that I don't have a regularly changing portfolio of houses to show off and will always struggle when it comes to ranking highly with the search engines.

This thought struck me recently as I was driving round with some clients and showing them some simply stunning Charentaise houses.  Property in the Charente is amongst the finest in France, the local stone is creamy and particularly attractive in the sunshine, even in deepest winter.

So here's a small cross section of some of the houses that I have seen recently - hopefully it will give you a flavour of what you can expect if you are searching for a home here, these houses happen to be in the €300-500,000 range. 

No confidences betrayed, all are being actively marketed (apart from the beautiful house above which has just gone under offer to a client of mine!).

And if it helps attract a few visitors to my blog then so much the better!

www.cognacproperty.com

Primelocation blog awards - move over Tiger

The results of the 2010 Primelocation blog awards have just been announced and what a winner they have chosen.

Propertynewshound is written by award winning journalist Graham Norwood and is in a different class to my occasional ramblings which scraped home last year.  As Graham said when he heard of his victory:

"Thank goodness that idiot in Cognac will have to keep his split infinitives to himself from now on....who cares about the French market anyway."

Actually he's probably only thinking that.  What he did say was:

“So much property writing, by industry professionals and journalists, concentrates on the most exclusive homes. They are fantastic but I wanted my blog to look at other issues, too, in a way which informed and entertained, and sometimes infuriated."

Seriously though, I'm genuinely delighted to have been shortlisted in three areas - best blog, best individual entry (for this) and users favourite as I'm aware that this year the competition was of an extremely high quality.

Any golfers among my readership will know of the tradition in the US Masters - last years winner hands over the green jacket to the newly crowned champion.

I'm the other side of La Manche from Graham and Primelocation don't present green jackets (although they do generously give Habitat vouchers) but I'm sure you get the picture.

My congratulations to a worthy winner and a hearty suggestion that you follow his blog in 2011.

www.cognacproperty.com

Bourg Charente - the jewel on the river

Bourg Charente is a cracking little village on the banks of the river Charente between Jarnac & Cognac.

It holds a special place in my heart for many reasons (it's stunningly pretty, has a Michelin restaurant, great cycling tracks with fond memories and much more).

It's come to mind this morning for two reasons.

Firstly, ex clients and now good friends Andy & Sarah have written about it on the brilliant blog "Prunings from the vines" - you can read the post and see the pictures here.

Secondly, ex clients and now good friends David & Lorraine are coming out to their house in Bourg Charente tomorrow for one of their frequent visits.  We've only known them a couple of years (and sadly they're both from the dark side and hold season tickets at the Emirates) but we've already shared many a bottle of decent red and plenty of laughter - I can't wait to see them again.

I said in my last post that sometimes I think that I have the best job in the world and when I think of new friends like Andy, Sarah, David & Lorraine it has introduced me to then I know I'm right....

www.cognacproperty.com

The changing face of house hunting

I've been busy the last couple of weeks with two different sets of clients over from the UK.

Both couples were charming and, after three days in the car together visiting far flung parts of the Charente (I leave no stone unturned in my searches), I got to know them all quite well....conversation naturally meanders across many topics although rugby did seem to be a common denominator.

Yesterday I had a long conversation about the opportunities available to househunters in these fast changing times.  It was a lively debate and we all agreed that the customer is king and that it's the buyer who will drive through the changes.

Then I read this article in the Telegraph, written by Graham Norwood, one of my fellow nominees for the Primelocation blog award.  I heartily recommend that you read the whole article but, for me, this bit stands out:

Could apps give me more information than I could get in person from the small town’s seven local estate agencies? Yes.

Take the Rightmove app. It displays all the homes on its website within a chosen radius of where I stand.

Its interactive maps allow me to walk up a street and literally look at the house whose details are in front of me on my mobile screen – I do not need to register with any estate agent first and I can spot if the pictures of the property exclude the dodgy-looking shop next door.

Of course, there are literally hundreds of new property related apps that give you more information on a house and its neighbourhood than you could possibly need.

The three of us, in deepest rural France, decided that the Rightmove stance of not allowing private sales would have to be broken at some stage.  If you stop your car in a neighbourhood you want total information of what's for sale not partial.  So whether it's Rightmove relaxing its stance, a competitor coming in or a simple aggregating site we decided that there will, one day, be a single online source of all property listings.

We couldn't really understand the rush from single agents to produce apps showing their listings (other than PR or a short term ego boost) but decided that there would perhaps be opportunities for niche agents to do so.

All of us agreed that there's still a role for the estate agent and it was flattering that my clients described it as the service I was offering them. 

Doing initial legwork and then using my professional background and local expertise to help in the decision making process (which goes beyond the individual property to issues such as selecting the right location, advising on local restaurants, doctors, schooling etc)  and in buying their favourite house at the lowest price possible.

The internet has changed the way we live and work....no-one can say where it's taking us but I'm 100% sure that the guy with the money will have a bigger say in our destiny than the person with something to sell.

Who knows.  I've had real fun over the last couple of weeks though - sometimes this is the most enjoyable job in the world....

www.cognacproperty.com

Google retreats with a bloody nose

Rightmove shares soared today as Google sheepishly announced that it was binning its property maps search.

You can see the full story in Estate Agent Today here but they say:

Google Maps is to drop property, less than two years after the launch that threatened to change the entire property portal market.

The search engine giant had offered the service for free but blamed low usage.

In a totally unexpected move, which this morning its own press office did not know about when we asked them for a comment, Google announced that the property search feature will be dropped in all the countries where it operates, including the UK, on February 10.

I was never privy to any of the meetings that Google execs held with leading UK agents but I can't help but feel that they have cocked up badly.
 
With such a high percentage of all property searches beginning with the buyer tapping some kind of search criteria into Google they hold a unique position in the market place.  They have a trusted brand and, presumably, some of the brightest people on the planet working for them. They have the opportunity to create something special that revolutionises our industry and shapes the way that we buy houses in the future.
 
As I say, I don't know the Google property team, nor their mid to long term ambitions.... but I do know that I could name half a dozen property marketing professionals who would be able to haul them up off the floor.
 
With or without my help as a recruitment consultant I get the feeling they'll be back before too long.....
 
www.cognacproperty.com

Shortlisted for Primelocation blog awards again!

Thrilled.

The shortlist for this years Primelocation property blog awards has been published and I'm on it again.

This year I'm up against even stiffer competition including top journalist Graham Norwood and his blog Property Newshound.  Graham writes for all of the quality dailies and often champions the need for clarity and quality in property PR and reporting.  He gets my vote.

Also shortlisted is the excellent Melanie Backe-Hansen and her blog for Chesterton Humberts, The house historian.  Melanie also writes regularly for Country Life and she too would be a deserved winner.

Sadly both Graham & I are bringing up the rear in the public poll but to be truthful I'm proud to be nominated alongside such true professionals. 

For a "one man band" buying agent who doesn't even live or work in the UK I'm happy with my lot.

I was a bit miffed though when my lifelong friend (and best man at my wedding) Chris cheerily told me that he'd cast his vote.....for Tracy Kellet and her buyingagent blog!

www.cognacproperty.com

New tax breaks for French holiday home owners....

I had been meaning to post something about this but was reminded of the importance today by two friends on Twitter (@HenryPryor and @WAEllis1868).

Tax on furnished holiday lettings is a complicated area, so please do seek specialist advice and take a look at the Government explanatory notes which you can find here.

To make sure your property qualifies as a furnished holiday letting, it must be:

• in the UK or EEA (which France is of course)
• furnished
• available for commercial letting to the public, as holiday accommodation, for at least 140 days a year
• commercially let as holiday accommodation for at least 70 days a year (the rent must be charged at market rate - not at cheap rates to friends and family)
• a short term letting of no more than 31 days

The Landlord zone blog gives a decent write up (here) from which you'll see:

Owners and prospective buyers of French property may find it possible to save considerable sums of money through claiming tax relief called Capital Allowances on furnished holiday let properties.

The tax relief known as ‘Furnished Holiday Lettings’ (‘FHL’) has been under government scrutiny with plans to tighten up the tax rules. Finally draft legislation has been published setting out the future tax treatment of an FHL business.

The complex rules contain three nuggets of important information. Firstly, the FHL rules offer some very generous tax treatment for properties meeting the ‘qualifying criteria’.

Secondly, a significant part of the purchase price paid can be recovered through a combination of ‘loss relief’ and claiming ‘capital allowances’.

Thirdly, the FHL rules apply to holiday properties in all 32 countries across the EEA and applies both to properties acquired in the past and those bought in the future. In many cases, the result is a refund of taxes paid in previous years on total income including tax on employment income; in effect a ‘cashback’ on property expenditure.

I'm not sure if any of my historic clients are claiming this tax relief yet but I'm going to ask around (easy to do so as many of them have turned into friends, which can prove difficult in the Summer when I'm supposed to work but the aperitif invites are too good to turn down).
 
If I can find any real life examples of savings made I'll post them up (changing names & places of course).
 
www.cognacproperty.com

A stroll by the river Charente

My good friend Andy is going to be fed up with me nicking his photos soon but seeing as he hasn't sent the Gendarmes round yet I thought I'd share some more with you.

I have just taken on some new clients who want me to find them a holiday home with river access.  I met them at the show in London and was trying to describe how wonderful the valley along the river Charente is.

Shame I hadn't seen this post about the weir at Vibrac at that stage, I could have fired it up on the laptop.

I often cycle along the "ponts et bras" of the Charente along here and it always takes my breath away....fortunately these pictures do it justice and I'm sure you can see why it's one of my favourite spots.

I'm not sure I'll be able to find my clients a view quite like this one but they do know that I'm going to do my damndest to hook them something special.

J'aime la Charente - it truly is a special river.

www.cognacproperty.com

French property - optimism kicking in

Morning all and apologies for a lack of posts recently.  I have been in the UK attending The France Show in Earls Court.

It's something I do every year as it's the biggest show of its kind and a good barometer for the market.  This year was the busiest I have seen it and there was a general air of optimism and positivity (if that's a word).  I have just been going through the leads we took with the team at FrenchEntrée and they have pretty much doubled in number from last year.

It's not just the number of enquiries that we took though. 

Whilst talking with visitors to our stand they seemed a lot cheerier than in the last two years and were no longer talking about putting off their French house purchases.  On the contrary most people seemed to think that 2011 was the year that they were actually going to turn their dreams into reality...they were fed up waiting and had now made the decision to buy.

This decision may well prove a wise one in hindsight with the FNAIM predicting both single figure house growth for 2011 and a big rise in the overall number of transactions.

On my way back on the Eurostar I read that Monday (17th Jan) was supposed to be the saddest and most depressing day of the year...well not in my household. 

I have been energised by the amount of positive people I met over the week-end - only time will tell if these initial enquiries will result in mandates and sales but I, for one, am happy and optimistic.... no matter what the papers say.   

www.cognacproperty.com

If ever a village was aptly named....

I took a hooky day last week and my pa-in-law & I drove down to the Pyrenees to map out our route for the cycle ride we're undertaking later this year.

Of course, the summit of the Col de Tourmalet is closed at this time of year but we wanted to make sure that our route took us on small roads through pretty villages with plenty of welcoming cafés and bars to stop at along the way.  There's plenty of preparation needed for a ride like this but fortunately France is incredibly cyclist friendly and beau pere has plenty of experience having tackled many mountain stages previously.

Handily the Ryanair flights from London arrive in Pau at 9.15am, so we're picking up the English contingent, having brunch, then setting off from Luz St Saveur at the foot of the mountain.

Up and over the Tourmalet then we're stopping in the famous town of Lourdes after a 70km day.

Day two sees a 120km trip through the foothills of the Pyrenees and up to Mont de Marsan, then on day three we're cycling another 120 km's through the forest of the Landes up to the famous vineyards of Cadillac.

It's on day three that we'll be pedalling through the aptly named village of Sore.  I was tempted to cheat here as there's a village outside Cognac called Ars and I was going to put both photos together.  Sadly though we won't actually be going through it and I guess we won't feel like making a 20km detour at that stage just for a tacky photo opportunity.

The last day sees a straight run home through St Emillion and up to Cognac - 120 km's of gruelling hills through the rolling vineyards of the Charente.

Lourdes, Tourmalet, St Emillion, Cognac - it's going to be an epic journey and I'm determined to make it. Now I just need to lose a dozen kilos and step up my training to three days a week!

www.cognacproperty.com

Sales of Cognac soaring - good news for the Charente

It's always good to see ones local economy booming and I was heartened to read this report on Michael Streeters excellent blog.

Michael begins his report by saying:

While many in society will be starting 2011 with the same uncertainty as they ended 2010, one sector at least will be raising a glass for 2011. The cognac industry.

At the peak of the financial and economic crisis sales of the famous drink plummeted around the world, going down to levels not seen since the dark days of the late 1990s.

In 2010, however, cognac was back with a vengeance. By the end of November 153 million bottles had been sold in the previous 12 months, the third best performance in history. (The best two were 157.1 million in 1989 and 159.3 in 2007 just before the crisis fell.)

In 2009 the equivalent figure had been just 130 million bottles.

Strong sales of Cognac around the world are good news for my friend Christian M who owns a vineyard, Christian G  who is a cellar master, Jean who works making barrels and even Martine who runs a bar (if the local economy is thriving then people spend more).

Of course more money sloshing around the Charente will also help the local housing market and we could well see the average house price in Cognac rise from its current level of €120,600 this year.

www.cognacproperty.com

Route 403 - the best band in SW France

Call me biased (which I am because one of the members is a good friend of mine) but there is one "stand out" band currently playing in my small corner of France.

Route 403 is a trio of British musicians currently living and working in South West France.

Their repertoire of energetic Swing, Jazz and Blues, featuring cool three-part harmony, is drawn mainly from the 1940s and 1950s and includes material by such legendary artists as Louis Jordan, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee and Duke Ellington.

I have seen them play quite a few times and each time have come away with a smile on my face and a tune on my lips.  It's my 50th next year and I'm hoping that they will play a big role in the celebrations (I need to ask if they can add some Eagles to their repetoire!).

If you're planning a trip out to the Charente this year then I heartily recommend looking up their gig guide in advance (click here for a link) and taking in a show.  They often play at the Auberge de Condé in Bassac and La Courtine in Cognac - both of which do excellent food too.

Now, don't forget, if you see them on W9 in the French X factor being mentored by Christophe Willem you heard it here first!

www.cognacproperty.com

Twitter - 5 "must follow" property people for 2011

There are all kinds of people using Twitter to post their opinions about the property market - so many in fact that it's sometimes difficult to wade through the chaff and find links & opinions that are genuinely helpful.

Listed below are five people that can help with this.  All post reasonably regularly and, while I don't always agree with what they say, I do know that it will be well researched and based upon experience in the field.

So, in no particular order, here are five "must follow" property folk for 2011:

@HenryPryor - an ex Savills agent who, as he says, provides "Objective housing data and comment from BBC Breakfasts' “favourite property expert”.

@MelanieBien - sadly she's an Arsenal supporter but if you can forgive her that you'll be treated to some excellent research and comment. She describes herself as "Director of Communications for independent mortgage broker Private Finance and commentator on all things mortgage and property-related".

@DavidAdamsCH - frequent posts from David Adams, "head of residential at leading property consultancy Chesterton Humberts, discussing the property market in London and around the country."

@PropertyJourn - respected property journalist Graham Norwood, in this era of keen amateur bloggers he's a great example of how far removed they are from what "real" journalism is all about. Describes himself as "Property journalist and author. Devon-living, F1-obsessing, cinema-going, OU-studying, BTL-owning".

@property_whore - the always cheery Nigel Lewis. Nigel is "a property editor and writer who has worked for the Daily Mail, Channel 4 property magazines, propertfinder.com and The Digital Property Group".

Of course, there are plenty of others in the Twitterverse and all of the above are UK based - it's a start though and I'll leave you to start adding others from the USA, continental Europe and further afield.

Please do let me know if there are others you think should be added to the "must follow" list....

www.cognacproperty.com