Since the moment we opened Fine & Country in January 2013 it has been a Buyer’s Market. There was a lot of choice with many properties available, and for motivated sellers, price was key. They had to price in line with a largely depressed market if they wanted to sell.
However, a change is afoot.
In spite of (or perhaps because of) the Covid-19 pandemic, the real estate market on the French Riviera has experienced a remarkable explosion in demand, specifically from European buyers.
With lock-downs and travel restrictions in place, on and off for almost an entire year now, Europeans who may otherwise have bought their holiday homes in Mauritius or the Caribbean, have focused on the French Riviera. It makes sense. Within a few hours drive, families can move from their homes in the cities, be they in Brussels, Paris, or Milan, to their holiday home in the South of France. The sunshine, lifestyle, beaches, mountains and views that they seek, are all on their doorstep. They become no longer reliant on air travel, and the potential current health risks associated with it; they have the reassurance of their European health care, low interest rates, and find themselves in a secure, stable and established real estate market, which the French Riviera has proved to be for decade upon decade.
It was a widely known fact that some properties, especially villas in the hinterlands with asking prices in the few millions of Euros, may sometimes have stayed on the market for a few years – but these too are selling. In the last two weeks alone, three villas in the two to four million euro range which were all on the market for over four years, have sold.
Properties that come new to the market today are selling within a few weeks, and buyers are finding that there is less and less choice available to them.
Our sales figures for 2020 more than doubled year on year, and yet we signed almost exactly the same number of mandates as in 2019.
Our prediction is that the Buyers Market wave we have ridden for the last decade is soon to break. A seller’s market is upon us.
Contact us directly for any questions, or help with your property needs in the South of France.
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 59 25 93
Email: cannes@fineandcountry.com
* With over 18 years of experience, we offer an in house turn-key property solution on the French Riviera and into Provence, including a full buyers search service, accompaniment through the entire purchase process, property management after purchase, and rentals. Additionally, we have established trusted partnerships with English speaking mortgage brokers, currency experts, lawyers, financial advisors, banks and more; all of whom we would be delighted to introduce you to, to facilitate your property purchase in the South of France.
We look after your property investment on the Cote d’Azur, as if it were our own, and if you want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, this is what Alex L. had to say: “Highly recommend Fine & Country. They are professional, knowledgeable and did everything possible to make the purchase of our house in Grasse as smooth as possible.“