Prices of rural property in France have fallen significantly in the last four years, according to new figures.
Notaires' new data shows that prices across the country dropped by only per cent between June 2008 and June 2012, but that the national average conceals far bigger price drops in countryside areas. Indeed, in Creuse, Limousin, prices have fallen by 15.7 per cent over the four years, followed by a 12.5 per cent drop in Loir-et-Cher and a 11.5 per cent fall in Moselle.
Haut-Garonne, Gironde, Indre, Savoie and Haut-Savoie all saw positive growth over the same period, but transactions have nonetheless slipped across the country with transactions dropping by around 20 per cent in volume.
The national association of French estate agents (FNAIM) confirms that French property prices are on the way down. According to their report, house prices have fallen by 1.3 per cent in the last 12 months, while rural real estate has seen values drop by as much as 8 per cent.
Indeed, prices have decreased in Brittany (7.9 per cent), Lower Normandy (6.9 per cent), Lorraine (6.7 per cent) and Upper Normandy (4.9 per cent). In Languedoc-Roussillon, too, values fell by almost 3 per cent across the last year.
The lowering prices and sales have been attributed by agents to fiscal changes that have been introduced by the French government in recent years, reports Property Wire, including the withdrawal of government sponsored interest free loans on existing older property for first time buyers.
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