France is still the number one location for British buyers looking to purchase abroad, according to overseas property and finance specialist Simon Conn.

 

Simon, who has been in the overseas property business for more than 35 years, said: “France has always been a hot spot and despite Brexit and all its possible implications, it is still proving to be the country we receive more enquiries about than any other.

 

“While it is still too early to draw any conclusions on the impact of Brexit on Brits investing in France, there has only been a small reduction in the number of purchases made by non-residents. 

 

“Last year, British buyers made up a third of all non-resident purchases, which is only just below the previous year’s figure,” Simon commented.

 

“We can see a pattern around the types of people and where they buy in different countries. For example, people who buy in Normandy and Brittany are the types who tend to buy in Costa Blanca and Costa Brava. And the sorts of people who buy in Southern France often go for properties in the Algarve and Costa del Sol. The middle market is the Dordogne and Savoir areas.

 

“Figures do not show an immediate impact because of Brexit and given the timing of the referendum in June, it is likely that many buyers were already committed to buying. We will wait to see how the market develops in the coming months, but we can safely say that France remains a key European location for Brits looking to buy abroad,” Simon added.

 

Simon Conn (www.simonconn.com) is an official partner of FEIFA – Federation of European IFAs. FEIFA (www.feifa.eu) is a non-profit trade body that represents and assists English-speaking advisers that are either based in mainland Europe or have clients there. The Federation also actively assists UK-based advisers to obtain the relevant knowledge - or to work in conjunction with appropriately regulated European advisers – in order to continue advising clients that emigrate or have assets overseas.