No escape for Poitou-Charentes in property price crash - FNAIM Report

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Statistics just released by the FNAIM conclude that average property prices in France have fallen by 3.1 per cent in the last year, after a decade of uninterrupted growth. There's worse news to come, as the report also predicts a 10 per cent fall in 2009.

 

The 34 page report highlights the change in lending policies of the banking sector as the main reason for the housing market slump, with many lenders demanding a bigger mortgage deposit from potential house-buyers, effectively pricing people out of property transactions.

 

René Pallincourt, president of the FNAIM, expects slightly better news in 2010 by suggesting prices may only drop by a further 5 per cent, with stabilisation of the market by 2012.

 

Poitou-Charentes has seen falls in both the prices of apartments (-6.8%) and houses (-1.3%), whilst in the city of Poitiers the composite drop was limited to 0.8% on property sales. The situation has also had a knock-on effect for people wishing to rent property, with the cost of renting an apartment in the region rising by 2.4%.

 

The analysis from the FNAIM suggests that whilst the property market was until recently driven by sellers, it is now very much a buyers market, with a bigger choice of properties available, lower prices and further room for negotiation. Buyers are also expected to benefit from the strong measures being put in place to re-finance the banks, where loans should become more readily available.

 

Check out the Guide2PoitouCharentes Property section for the latest bargain properties.