Thinking about buying a property in France?

The French Property Exhibition at Olympia Central, London on 18-20 September offers all the information and inspiration you need

Whether you’re looking for a permanent residence, a holiday home or a buy-to-let investment property, the French Property Exhibition is the ideal place to start. The three-day event sponsored by Blevins Franks returns to Olympia and showcases thousands of properties to suit all budgets for sale across France. Bringing together estate agents and experts from the legal, financial, currency exchange and removals worlds, the exhibition provides the perfect opportunity to get advice and meet the experts under one roof. A programme of informative seminars plus a ‘How To’ forum sponsored by Cambridge Global Payments will run throughout the weekend, covering topics ranging from mortgages, financial advice and healthcare to the property hotspots to look out for.

Now is the perfect time to make that dream of buying in France a reality. A weak euro combined with the low mortgage rates that are still available in France has contributed to the creation of ‘perfect conditions’ for buying a property across the Channel. The euro exchange rate recently hit a seven-year high, rising to 1.41 against the pound, while French mortgage rates dropped to new all-time lows. In terms of property prices, this means that a €200,000 property is over £21,000 cheaper than it was a year ago, which makes a significant difference to British buyers.

According to the latest Investing & Living Abroad report from BNP Paribas (bnpparibas.co.uk), the British demand for French property is growing ever stronger. Britons buy more properties in France than any other nationality. The BNP Paribas figures revealed that 13,823 properties were sold to non-resident buyers in 2014, an increase of just 1.5% from the previous year. However non-resident British buyers accounted for 32% of those sales, representing a 33% year-on-year increase. Sales to resident British buyers also increased significantly, rising by 22%. Estate agency Leggett Immobilier (leggettfrance.com) who will be exhibiting on stand 22 reported a 40% increase in sales in the first half of 2015.

The recent French Property Exhibition at Wetherby Racecourse, Yorkshire this May was a great success. Charles Smallwood of Agence L’Union (agencelunion.com) commented, “I was sure it was going to be a good show but it was even better than I expected, and it was even busier than I thought it was going to be too.” Many visitors walked away feeling one step closer to owning their dream French property.

Free entrance tickets to the exhibition are available by registering at fpeolympia.comThe French Property Exhibition at Olympia Central, London takes place on 18-20 September, 10am-5pm.