There's nothing lovelier than emerging from the grot of London into the beauty
of Paris on a sunny spring day. You might even decide to stay, and it
wouldn't be a foolish decision, given that prime property in the smartest
parts of Paris is roughly half the cost of that in equivalent areas of grimy
old London.
Apartments in the most expensive streets in Paris, the “golden triangle”
formed by Avenue Montaigne, the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Marceau, in the
8th arrondissement, cost a maximum of £1,500 a sq ft, according to figures
from the buying agency Property Vision. In comparison, the most expensive
parts of Chelsea now command £2,800 a sq ft, and one-off super-prime
developments, such as One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, have reached £4,000 a
sq ft.
The French property market is also a more dependable beast than its English or
American cousins. The French are a nation of tenants, not property
speculators, and the market tends to avoid peaks and troughs in favour of a
steady upward trajectory, with a typical rise of between 60 and 70 per cent
over the past five years, according to figures from the Notaires de Paris.
Priscilla Charrey, of Knight Frank's Paris office, is confident that “the
high-end market in Paris is protected against the global crisis. Sub-prime
doesn't concern us. Paris is a cheap capital and the most beautiful in the
world - a paradox.” Half her clients are buyers from Britain, Ireland,
Russia and America, who buy one or two-bedroom flats to let.
Lionel Macaire, of the estate agents Belles Demeures de France, agrees: “The
market is very good. More and more foreigners are buying every year. London
is more expensive because of the power of the City - there's more
competition for the best properties and therefore more pressure on prices.”
Overseas investors in Paris do have cultural obstacles to overcome. Flats on
the smartest streets tend to have belonged to the same family for
generations and have had no money spent on them within living memory.
According to Fiona Dermody, an Irish estate agent at Knight Frank in Paris:
“The French have good pieces of antique furniture, and basic good taste, but
they don't ‘design' their interiors. They're very old-fashioned - for
example, they can't understand why the British and Americans are so keen on
open-plan kitchens. French people think it's barbaric to eat in the kitchen.”
Nigel Hindle, of Property Vision, agrees. “Until recently it was impossible to
find a luxurious, furnished, ‘turn-key' apartment that you could start
living in immediately. In London they're everywhere, but here it's a trend
that's just starting to take off.”
The Right Bank “golden triangle” is equivalent to Mayfair in London, where
prices are £2,000 a sq ft. A three-bed 2,150 sq ft flat on the Rue du
Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a fashionable street of designer boutiques and the
President's residence, is for sale via Knight Frank (knightfrank.com) for
€1.875million (£1.48million). Like all 19th-century flats in streets
designed by Baron Haussmann, it has a grand front room, parquet floors and
ornate cornices. Typically, it also has a prehistoric kitchen and bathroom,
but if you are prepared to redecorate, you could live it up on the Paris
equivalent of Bond Street.
A similarly-sized three-bed flat is for sale for €1.9 million on Avenue
Mozart, near by in the 16th arrondissement. It is elegant and spacious but
dilapidated and requires at least €300,000 of work, according to the agent.
A larger three-bed flat, 2,580 sq ft, in an Art Deco block on Place Vauban
in the 7th, is €4.2 million. This is because of its view of Les Invalides
opposite, but the agent believes that the price could be negotiated to €3.75
million. Typical prices in the 16th and 7th are €750-€850 a sq ft. They are
established, moneyed areas similar to Kensington and Holland Park, where a
flat will cost £2,000 a sq ft.
British visitors to Paris are probably more familiar with the Left Bank
districts of the 5th and 6th arrondissements, with their rabbitwarren of
chic, atmospheric streets. The Times photographer, Magali Delporte, confided
in me that, if she were a foreigner, this is where she would live: “It's
full of writers, politicians and intellectuals.” Prices are only €750-€850 a
sq ft, a bargain compared with Chelsea or South Kensington, its London
equivalents, where flats are £2,000 and houses up to £2,800 a sq ft. A
one-bed flat in a 17th-century building on Rue Blainville, near the
Panthéon, is for sale via Knight Frank for €962,000. It's only 750 sq ft,
but very atmospheric, with dark wood floors and beams. Unusually, it's been
completely renovated, with a new fitted kitchen, perfect for a British
buy-to-let investor in search of a chic pied-à-terre.
All properties, unless otherwise stated, are available through Property Vision
(0033 4 93 92 79 35,
www.propertyvision.com )
Fact File
When buying in France, watch out for the following tax traps:
Wealth tax: Non-residents with property in France worth over €780,000
(£616,700) must pay an annual tax of up to 1.8 per cent of the property's
value. However, if you take out a mortgage with a French bank before you buy
the house, it is deductible from wealth tax.
Inheritance tax: President Sarkozy has abolished the rule that surviving
spouses pay tax of up to 40 per cent on the value of their deceased
partner's estate. Take legal advice if you want to leave your estate to your
spouse, not your children. This is technically illegal in France.
Capital gains tax: Non-residents must pay 16 per cent of a property's value in
tax if they sell within five years. Each year after that there is a rebate,
and after 15 years it is reduced to zero.
I love to eat in my kitchen!!! For one, it resembles Julia Child's kitchen she donated to the Smithsonian . Two, it is big enough to hold my piano and a rocking chair and we can dance to the radio! I can look out the windows and see forests of pine. Just grand. Cheers! Happy Fall everybody!
Miss May, Chattanooga Tennessee, USA
For those of us who don't have the money to pay the kind of prices quoted in the article, there is a much more reasonable atlernative - fractional ownership. Paris offers several beautiful apartments in premier areas which can be jointly owned with others, for as little as 50,000 quid!
Steve Navaro, Denver, USA
I have been working as a real estate agent in Paris for over 35 years and up untill this day i continue selling and leting properties in Paris , These prices stated are absolutely pathetic and they are sold at under market prices because of their poor state . Please do not generalise !
Jean Claude Basset , Paris ,
we say in France "no one is a prophet in his own country". To say that's it's barbaric to eat in the kitchen is 100% wrong and shows that Fiona knows nothing. Most of French families eat in the kitchen as it is usually the focal point of the house. It's not only a tradition but part of the culture.
Philippe VASSEUR, PARIS, FRANCE
Having lived in Paris for a year not long ago, and being familiar with the streets quoted in the article, I would disagree with Mathias that those are "heavily trafficked public areas" that are not kept as clean as their London equivalents; they are gorgeous areas that sparkle and are cleaned daily.
Linda, Brooklyn, USA
Having recently bought in Paris (10mins walk from the Champs Elysees) after a year's search I can safely say this piece is wrong. The prices quoted are wrong (way too low) and the generalisations spouted about the French and Paris are just insulting.
E, Paris,
"All properties, unless otherwise stated, are available through Property Vision "
Interesting 1; according to their website Property Vision doesn't even have an office in Paris.
"French people think it's barbaric to eat in the kitchen.â€
Interesting 2; virtually every kitchen in France has a dining table!
Is this article some kind of wind-up?
Alan, Cairo, Egypt
Having grown up in Paris & London I would argue Paris is more grotty but it is prettier than London. The writer is describing Mayfair, Chelsea, Holland Park etc... which are all extremely clean & beautifully kept areas in London. The heavily trafficked public areas in Paris really are not kept as clean as the equivalent parts of London.
Mathias, London,
I love Paris.... had Parisian girlfriend but its such a trite and ignorant easily written piece... "grot of London, to spring sunshine of Paris"....??? Please give me a break, Paris is just as grotty or not as London and the facts are from met office London has more sunshine a year..!!! Ask all the 1000's of Parisians living in London, its the 7th biggest french city..!! Why is it a uniquely British trait to knock our own country down all the time..?
Andrew, Hove, UK
Where did Lucy Alexander get her facts re. "French people think it's barbaric to eat in the kitchen.†I am French, grew up there and, as a family, we used to eat in the kitchen!
Petronille, Greater London/Grandcamp-Maisy,
I apologise to Lucy Alexander when I blamer her for getting her facts wrong re. "French people think it's barbaric to eat in the kitchen".
I should really have unleased on "Fiona Dermody, an Irish estate agent at Knight Frank in Paris". Maybe Parisians think it barbaric but us in the countryside/seaside certainly don't! What happens in Paris doesn't reflect the true life of the French regions.
Petronille, Greater London/Grandcamp-Maisy,