Secondary residences: British people prefer the French Riviera

The French Riviera became the French region the most popular in 1999 for the purchase of a secondary home in France by British people. This is what comes up from a survey conducted by the British bank, Abbey National for purchases of property in France by citizens of Great Britain. Five hundred thousands of British people are then owners of a studio flat, a flat, a house, or even a castle in France. On the previous years, these purchases were mainly operated in the North of France.

In 1999-2000, it is the South of France which became the most popular for candidates to property: 11% of acquisitions were done on the French Riviera, 10% in the Dordogne, 7% in the Haute-Savoie, 6% in the Gers and only 4% in the Manche. What encourages British people to speed up their property investments in France? It is the cost of French real estate, which is considered profitable, lower interest rates and the high value of the pound compared to the euro, the survey of the bank estimates.