A New, Leaner Market for European Property

The collapse of some key markets across the European property industry may have been temporarily bad for business, but it hasn't caused the market to dry up completely, only to adapt. According to recent research from international property firm Assetz, the new post-recession property buyer is more exact about what they want and less willing to invest their money in something they can't see before their very eyes.

Before the global downturn, only approximately 20% of prospective investors would organise a viewing trip to their chosen development, in order to investigate the developer, the local area and the quality of the scheme. Today, according to Assetz, around 80% visit their prospective property before investing. Increasing media attention on off-the-plan investment scams, combined with a general tightening of purse strings, mean buyers simply can't afford to put their money into anything that isn't guaranteed to be profitable. Assetz also reports that buyers are spending increasing amounts of time doing due diligence and researching developer credentials before they agree to spend a cent.

"The froth has been taken off the overseas market in recent years as amateur investors were deterred by increased risk and the end of sky high capital gains", said CEO Stuart Law. "However, a new, leaner market has emerged, as experienced investors and holiday home buyers seeking a solid long-term investment for their cash remain attracted to high quality schemes in the best locations."

One market that remains stable in the eyes of investors is France. While its central bank acted quickly to drop interest rates, meaning demand on the domestic front stayed strong during the recession, supply has also been kept fairly tight on the market, unlike neighbouring Spain where large amounts of new developments were put up in a hurry during the boom years. Britain's across-the-pond neighbour still holds a significant amount of investment value in the eyes of this new, picky market of property investors for these reasons.

For a wide range of investment property and second homes available in France, or further afield in the rest of Europe, check out Eurobrix's French Property section or our main listings page.

About the author:

Yuri Brixenmortar is the author of Eurobrix Blog. He loves real estate so when the guys at www.eurobrix.com asked him to join the team and help promote European property and real estate around the world, he couldn't say no. He finds it interesting to look at other peoples' houses, apartments and castles.