WATTO.CW

Another reason is that the French do not have the English love of doing up old properties. They simply vacate their old houses and build another house on that property then they sell the old house to the English. Due to French laws land is sub-divided among the children when a death occurs so that farms become smaller with time. Many young people go to the cities and many smaller properties are left vacant. With the growth of population among the indigenous French now down to 1.6 or less there is a lot of land spare.

scot47

Turn the question on its head and ask, "Why has there been such obscene house price inflation in the South East of England ?"

WATTO.CW

Quite!

Chatter Static

It's obvious, easy commute to London and it's nicer than the north.

bigglesworth

Well, a million young French people have moved there for a start!

EuroTrash

That explains the high prices but not the inflation. It's not twice as nice now as it was in years gone by when prices were a fraction of what they are now.

It's because property is a commodity in the UK and the government likes it that way. Look at the latest scheme for the govt to put taxpayers' money on the line to help high earners buy grossly overpriced houses. The sensible answer is not to manipulate a dysfunctional marketplace so that people who meet the criteria can buy property that nobody is buying at the moment because it is unaffordable, and stuff the rest who don't meet the criteria. The sensible answer is to let prices drop back in line with income until they become affordable again. But the govt prefers to prop the prices up instead. They're building a house of cards.

bigglesworth

Isn't going to happen ET. I wish it would , but I think it is out of the governments hands.
A lot of the buying is foreign money - 25/30 percent fall in sterling means prices took a nosedive for the Far and Middle East. Then there is a lot of concern in a number of countries about their economic viability - what if the wheels come off the China model. prompting people to take a chunk of cash, and buy a bolt hole. Even if the Government does tax foreign owners 5 or even 10 percent (as is being whispered) that is still less than their own government would take, and they have covered a bit of their risk.

The trouble is, London has become disconnected from the rest of the UK. It is a world city - perhaps THE world city.
What that does to those amongst us who have to work at normal jobs in the South, for normal wages - I have no answers. Those of us who are old enough (and were lucky enough) see rising property values. Looks good on paper, but most of us also have children, and where does this leave them? Between the generations it does no one any good.
And to respond to your first para- no it certainly is NOT twice as nice. It is twice as nasty. But maybe that is an age thing.

Caryatid

I think the idea that French people don't like doing up houses is from at least 20 years ago. I am surrounded by French people bashing out walls, putting in St. Tropezienne terraces, painting and really DIY with the occasional help of a maçon. These are primary and secondary residences and rental units.

EuroTrash

Might one ask whereabouts you are?
In my little town, a lot of the older properties around the centre are empty and decaying slowly, and people are living in newer estates a bit further out.
The house next to me is empty and the current owner, a lady in her 60s who inherited it from her parents about 5 years ago, wanted to give it to her son and is quite upset that he doesn't want it but prefers to keep paying his mortgage on a newer one.

Harvester523

Round here, a lot of French do like new houses, but a lot are snapping up the old wrecks as well. In our hamlet of 5 houses, we're the only rosbifs - one neighbour has spent thousands and thousands doing up the family home including new roof and converting the barn, the Parisiens holiday house has just had the roof done, a third neighbour has had a conservatory, new windows and new expensive gates. In the next hamlet of 4 houses, one is semi renovated (owned by us and being renovated extreeeemely slowly by the French tenants for a bargain rent because we ran out of steam ), the other three are being or have been renovated by French owners. Having seen the build quality of the neighbour's son's new bungalow, I'm not surprised they like the older houses - there was even a long delay/argument as they hadn't put lintels over the windows, and that's a big name builder in this area, not a one man business.
And to add, the price of a new build is way more expensive than an older house here.
Eurotrash, maybe it's a town v country divide. In our local village there are one or two houses that have been for sale for years (overpriced I think), but get a mile or two up the road and more rural, and they go like hot cakes.

bigglesworth

I live in a smallish commune and clearly have not been in everyone's houses. Most of the renovations are done by the rosbifs, but a very strong French showing. My (French) neighbour at the bottom of the garden renovated 30 to 40 years ago - and put in heat pumps then!. Really nice comfortable place.

On the other side, I have another French neighbour who rented for twenty odd years, and finally the family sold the house to him 7 or 8 years ago. When we first came he proudly showed me around - and it is absolutely pristine! I wish I could work to that standard.

Just across from him is another who has converted the main (small) house into a 4 bedroom, two bathroom.' lounge etc. And the small barn, half the size- he has made into a maison d'amis- but also with the same amount of accomodation.

Mind you, I keep expecting Frodo to pop his head out!