[vc_row][vc_column][us_separator size=”small”][vc_column_text]Since 23 June 2016, France has been drawing in Brits, Brexit or not. In 2017, 3,173 British people applied for French citizenship, a level eight times higher than in 2015, when only 386 did so. In terms of completing the process, 1,518 British people actually obtained French citizenship in 2017, versus 320 in 2015. Applications for naturalisation are increasing considerably and, consequently, the French property market is benefiting from this craze! Although the number of property transactions completed by British people is down 6%, they remain the top foreign investors in France, representing 25.9% of transactions completed in 2017, according to BNP International Buyers.
“Move before it’s too late”: French property markets benefit from Brexit
The definitive date on which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union is set for 29 March 2019. As such, many British people are determined to buy property in France before that date.
A property hunter in Dordogne told The Guardian: “Every Brit who’s ever dreamed of living on the continent but done nothing about it has woken up and thought: “If I don’t do it now, it’s never going to happen. Or at least, it’ll be a hell of a lot harder.””
According to the 2017 BNP Paribas International Buyers study, 30% of British people looking for property in France felt a push to accelerate their property purchase because of Brexit.
Beyond practical considerations about having a European passport, many Brits are investing in France to take advantage of low interest rates and affordable French property prices. They are hurrying out of fear that the pound will depreciate once Brexit is complete and their savings will melt away. The solution, as they see it, is to invest in bricks and mortar while also enjoying the French lifestyle. Beyond the cliché of the Brit who wants to retire to the sunny south of France, a number of younger British natives looking to buy are intending to put down roots in France, looking for remote working solutions with their employers in the UK.
The French regions benefiting the most from Brexit in terms of property markets
The attractive French property prices are a draw for potential British buyers who might otherwise remain on the fence about following the project through.
Indeed, prices of existing homes were down in a quarter of French departments, including Aveyron and Dordogne, in Q1 2018, according to French notary association Notaires de France. Dordogne is one of the most popular regions for Brits, numbering around 6,000 British expatriates in 2017, around 25% of British people living in France, and is capitalising on this favourable trend in the property market.
Besides Dordogne, Brits who are not already French residents are investing in the Rhône-Alpes (15.4% of transactions), Aquitaine (13%), and Limousin (11%) regions.
Brits who are French residents tend to favour the Rhône-Alpes, Aquitaine, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) regions.
Number and percentage of British people per town in the Aquitaine region. – Insee (French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies)
These “British-Aquitainians” who have moved to “Dordogneshire” and other regions of France tend to prefer property in the countryside. While French people own the vast majority of houses in the country (with 94.9%), the British, who love French country homes that they can potentially convert into holiday cottages, are hurrying to buy before prices go up.
The economic consequences of the divorce between the UK and the European Union are still not very clear. The repercussions for continental natives living in Great Britain and British people living in France will depend on whether it’s a “soft” or “hard” Brexit.
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