Second home: the British prefer the French Riviera

The French Riviera became in 1999 the French region that most interests British people to buy a second home in France. This is the conclusion of a study lead by the British bank Abbey National about purchases of real estate in France by British people. In France, 500,000 British people are owners of a flat, a villa or even a castle. Some years ago such purchases were made in North of France.

In 1999-2000, they have been preferring South: 11% of purchases were signed on the French Riviera, 10% in Dordogne, 7% in Haute-Savoie, 6% in Gers, and only 4% in Manche. What encourages British people to buy in France? French real estate is not so expensive, interest rates are light enough, the pound is stronger than the Euro…