French property prices rise

PROPERTY prices across France rose by 10.3% in 2005 according to figures from the French National Association of Estate Agents (FNAIM).

This was actually down on 2004 when prices rose by 15%, but if you look further back there has been a 107% increase in prices since 1998.

The slow down has been blamed on the economic conditions in France but FNAIM expected things to be slightly worse and were surprised to see an increase in the number of properties passing through agents’ books.

Apartment prices rose by 10.6% in 2005, down from the near 18% increase seen the year before, whilst the price of a house has risen by 9.9% against a 12.5% rise in 2004.

According to the Halifax UK property prices rose by 5.1% over 2005 - the smallest annual rise for 10 years.

At a departement level the price of a house has risen slowest in Bourgogne, the Ile de France area, the Limousin, the Midi-Pyrénées and in the Rhône-Alpes regions.

Conversely the biggest increases have been been in the Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, le Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté, Haute-Normandie, in the Languedoc-Roussillon and in Lorraine.

Regional Changes, Houses (2004 and 2005)

Ouest: 12.4% and 12.1%
Ile de France: 16% and 8.6%
Nord et Est: 10% and 10.3%
Sud-Ouest: 12.9% and 10.7%
Centre et Alpes: 11.6% and 8.8%
Sud-Est: 9.9% and 8%
FRANCE: 12.5% and 9.9%