Why are French houses so cheap?
Discussion
I must have missed something.
My mum and her husband have recently moved to france and have bought a big house with an annex and plenty of land and were claiming it cost a third of what it would cost in the UK.
I was skeptical, but having had a look online it seems that there are plenty of houses at a similarly cheap price compared to the UK.
Why is this?
Im aware that France is a much bigger country by land area and alot less densely populated, but the cost of building must surely be similar as average salaries are similar?
For example https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property-for-...
My mum and her husband have recently moved to france and have bought a big house with an annex and plenty of land and were claiming it cost a third of what it would cost in the UK.
I was skeptical, but having had a look online it seems that there are plenty of houses at a similarly cheap price compared to the UK.
Why is this?
Im aware that France is a much bigger country by land area and alot less densely populated, but the cost of building must surely be similar as average salaries are similar?
For example https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property-for-...
The UK is fairly unusual in Europe in that we've all been encouraged to own our own houses so that we have a nest egg and the government can stiff us on pensions. In France (among others) home ownership is less common, so house prices don't inflate the way they do here.
Plus in rural France the market is small because there are fewer jobs and, because the country is so large, commuting to a large town or city can be impractical.
Plus in rural France the market is small because there are fewer jobs and, because the country is so large, commuting to a large town or city can be impractical.
The French generally don't do DIY, or bother about *buying* property. Brits see house purchase as an investment, but it doesn't work in many other countries. Little real demand keeps prices low.
As others have said, you also have a lot of French silliness/strikes/idiots to put up with.
As others have said, you also have a lot of French silliness/strikes/idiots to put up with.
Another issue is that the French, by and large, want modern, highly energy efficient homes that are cheap to run. They don't tend to have the same sentimental attachment to older properties that we do.
As an example, the farmer in our hamlet bought a house for his younger son and daughter in law around the time we bought ours. He could have bought ours for them but opted to pay more for a much smaller but near brand new bungalow just down the road
As an example, the farmer in our hamlet bought a house for his younger son and daughter in law around the time we bought ours. He could have bought ours for them but opted to pay more for a much smaller but near brand new bungalow just down the road
Most people want / need to live in towns / near facilities.
Prices in Paris aren't so cheap.
Big old places needing work are cheap as you need cash to do them up and cash to keep them (and you going)
A mate bought a large house in Bordeaux, sold it 20 years later and struggled to get his money back - they don't tend to appreciate.
Prices in Paris aren't so cheap.
Big old places needing work are cheap as you need cash to do them up and cash to keep them (and you going)
A mate bought a large house in Bordeaux, sold it 20 years later and struggled to get his money back - they don't tend to appreciate.
Supply and demand - France has largely the same population as the UK with two and half times the land area.
Also worth saying that you (used to?) inherit any debt (mortgage) on a French property when you buy it.
Oh, to the poster above who mentioned pensions... most people who know what they are talking about rate the UK state pension provision above that of France.
Also worth saying that you (used to?) inherit any debt (mortgage) on a French property when you buy it.
Oh, to the poster above who mentioned pensions... most people who know what they are talking about rate the UK state pension provision above that of France.
Mate and his wife sold up here and bought a property in France.
Nice big building with a bit of land..think tv relocation programs and you get the idea.
A year later they’re coming home...and the reason?
They can’t speak f
king French so he can’t get any kind of work there.
I’m sorry but that just might have been one of the considerations before moving to France.
Nice big building with a bit of land..think tv relocation programs and you get the idea.
A year later they’re coming home...and the reason?
They can’t speak f
king French so he can’t get any kind of work there.I’m sorry but that just might have been one of the considerations before moving to France.
Drawweight said:
Mate and his wife sold up here and bought a property in France.
Nice big building with a bit of land..think tv relocation programs and you get the idea.
A year later they’re coming home...and the reason?
They can’t speak fking French so he can’t get any kind of work there.
I’m sorry but that just might have been one of the considerations before moving to France.
If its anything like Spain, the unemployment rate (pre-CV...) was so high, particularly among the younger, that you would stand next to zero chance of finding work unless you were at the very least bi-lingual. The only hope you would have is to aim for an ex-pat heavy community and look for cash in hand work paying below minimum wage. That said, some tradesmen have got profitable little businesses as the ex-pat owners speak no Spanish and have a general mistrust coupled with that language barrier; they all tend to therefore employ English tradesmen who can charge whatever they fancy. Nice big building with a bit of land..think tv relocation programs and you get the idea.
A year later they’re coming home...and the reason?
They can’t speak f
king French so he can’t get any kind of work there.I’m sorry but that just might have been one of the considerations before moving to France.
If you need to work, can't speak the language and move there, you would be a fool.
Thanks for the replies.
As i said in the original post i appreciate the post about the amount of land in France compared to the UK, but it still takes the same number of people the same amount of time to knock up the same sized house.
I think the points about older houses not being as popular over there may be true as most of the houses i am referring to are very old.
I was wondering how building standards compare in France vs UK?
As i said in the original post i appreciate the post about the amount of land in France compared to the UK, but it still takes the same number of people the same amount of time to knock up the same sized house.
I think the points about older houses not being as popular over there may be true as most of the houses i am referring to are very old.
I was wondering how building standards compare in France vs UK?
Sambucket said:
Similar rural priced countries available in most countries bar the U.K?
This is not the case though. My GF is Spanish, and property in Spain isnt substantially cheaper than the UK, especially when you factor in the difference is salary.Shnozz said:
And people in France are sat looking at house prices in Bulgaria and asking the same question.
It's generally linked to earnings capacity.
See also; anywhere in the world.
Well, yes, of course. But the point is earning potential in France is very similar to the UK. But France and Bulgaria is not.It's generally linked to earnings capacity.
See also; anywhere in the world.
Shnozz said:
If its anything like Spain, the unemployment rate (pre-CV...) was so high, particularly among the younger, that you would stand next to zero chance of finding work unless you were at the very least bi-lingual.
Agreed, I knocked the idea of moving to Spain on the head for this reason (and some others)Edited by Benbay001 on Saturday 18th April 14:47
Edited by Benbay001 on Saturday 18th April 14:47
Earnings potential in rural France is not the same as earnings potential in Paris.
Earnings potential in London is far greater than rural Lincolnshire.
Whilst there are other factors that determine price, its direct relationship will usually be earnings. Its the same worldwide.
Perhaps it will change with the expansion of home working, but it certainly shows little sign of doing so thus far. I don't understand why those who WFH don't elect to do so from a nicer location than the UK, albeit everyone's circumstances are different. In my case I am a lot happier WFH in my Spanish pad than I am in my UK one, yet the concept of doing so seems to be so alien to people you chat to who cant get the "holiday" image out of their mind. If I said I was WFH in my house a 2 hour drive away in Gloucester, it wouldn't raise so much as an eyebrow.
Earnings potential in London is far greater than rural Lincolnshire.
Whilst there are other factors that determine price, its direct relationship will usually be earnings. Its the same worldwide.
Perhaps it will change with the expansion of home working, but it certainly shows little sign of doing so thus far. I don't understand why those who WFH don't elect to do so from a nicer location than the UK, albeit everyone's circumstances are different. In my case I am a lot happier WFH in my Spanish pad than I am in my UK one, yet the concept of doing so seems to be so alien to people you chat to who cant get the "holiday" image out of their mind. If I said I was WFH in my house a 2 hour drive away in Gloucester, it wouldn't raise so much as an eyebrow.
DuraAce said:
Remote locations = lack of higher paid jobs locally, length of commute to larger towns etc
France has similar population to the UK but much more land, hence its cheaper to buy. Especially out in the sticks.
Do they have a "green belt" policy in France that was brought in about 60 years ago to the UK which artificially inflates land prices.France has similar population to the UK but much more land, hence its cheaper to buy. Especially out in the sticks.
Shnozz said:
Earnings potential in rural France is not the same as earnings potential in Paris.
Earnings potential in London is far greater than rural Lincolnshire.
Whilst there are other factors that determine price, its direct relationship will usually be earnings. Its the same worldwide.
Again, i fully appreciate this.Earnings potential in London is far greater than rural Lincolnshire.
Whilst there are other factors that determine price, its direct relationship will usually be earnings. Its the same worldwide.
But ive googled "cheapest places for land in the UK" and then searched for properties in the suggested areas and any comparable houses are night and day difference. Even in parts of the UK where jobs are very scarce.
Taking your example of Lincolnshire..
Here is a 4 bed with 2 bed annex and 4 acres in Lincs for £1M https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
Here is a 6 bed B&B in Burgundy with 4.5 acres for £300k. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/prop...
Edit: done in reverse, £1M in Burgundy gets you this. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/prop...
Edited by Benbay001 on Saturday 18th April 15:14
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