Do falling US real estate prices indicate that this will soon be happening in France?

A recent article published in a French real estate Magazine, “Le Particulier a Particulier” produced a brief comparison report between the US and French real estate markets. Their conclusion was that the current trends in the US will not necessarily cross over the Atlantic and effect the French real estate market in the same way. They state that a number of key differences between the two countries are likely to prevent this from happening.

The US real estate market wavering was a chain reaction; while real estate prices were exploding, many financial institutions granted high risk loans purely based on the continued expected rise in real estate prices. When prices fell, the market became heavily unbalanced. Refinancing for highly overvalued and already strongly leveraged properties was common even when current market values were dangerously high and out of sync with standard market valuations. The growing number of sellers in the US who have not been able to sell their properties for as much as they had in their outstanding mortgages has reached alarming levels.

In France, mortgage legislation is tougher than in the US, and more controlled. Lending is tighter and therefore the number of foreclosures in France pales with respect to the US market. Furthermore interest rates are still down at historically low rates of about 4% which continue to promote transactions in this very alive real estate market. Paris real estate is booming these days.

If you are interested in purchasing a Paris apartment, please visit our website:
www.paris-aparts.com
Or email Glenn Cooper at: coopergl@gmail.com

Do falling US real estate prices indicate that this will soon be happening in France?

A recent article published in a French real estate Magazine, “Le Particulier a Particulier” produced a brief comparison report between the US and French real estate markets. Their conclusion was that the current trends in the US will not necessarily cross over the Atlantic and effect the French real estate market in the same way. They state that a number of key differences between the two countries are likely to prevent this from happening.

The US real estate market wavering was a chain reaction; while real estate prices were exploding, many financial institutions granted high risk loans purely based on the continued expected rise in real estate prices. When prices fell, the market became heavily unbalanced. Refinancing for highly overvalued and already strongly leveraged properties was common even when current market values were dangerously high and out of sync with standard market valuations. The growing number of sellers in the US who have not been able to sell their properties for as much as they had in their outstanding mortgages has reached alarming levels.

In France, mortgage legislation is tougher than in the US, and more controlled. Lending is tighter and therefore the number of foreclosures in France pales with respect to the US market. Furthermore interest rates are still down at historically low rates of about 4% which continues to promote transactions in this very alive real estate market. Paris real estate is booming these days.

If you are interested in purchasing a Paris apartment, please visit our website:
www.paris-aparts.com
Or email Glenn Cooper at: coopergl@gmail.com