French people continue to buy second homes
April 5th, 2007 by Kat
According to recent figures’, the second homes represent in France nearly 1 house out of 10! And nearly 3 million French have one of them.
The majority of the second homes are near the sun ( I mean in the south of France) like Paca, Languedoc Roussillon and the Rhone Alps… Then we go back to the north (with less sun 
) in Brittany…
But, as it’s getting so expensive in France, the French do not hesitate to buy abroad. For the price of an apartment in the south of France, they can reach a villa with a lovely garden in front of the the sea! It’s a quick decision for them! They don’t hesitate any more and can go even further like the Caribbean or in the Seychelles.
I went to see by curiosity the prices of villas for sale in Madagascar. And, I discovered unexpecting prices. For exemple, a villa of 217 m2 with large garden for 80.000 euros! In South of France, the same would be over 800 000 euros!
Considering the success of the second homes, a exhibition devoted to second homes was created in 2006. It is called “Second Place” and it takes place in Belgium. More than 5.500 visitors last year.
The exhibitors come to make you discover residences from all over the world (Cyprus, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Greece, South of Africa, Belgium, Portugal…)
The living room opened this year in March and the next edition will take place from the 28th of September to the 30th of September , 2007.
For more informations :
Living room “Second Place”
In Brussels Expo, in Belgium
Entry: 9 euros
More infos: http://www.secondplace.be/
And you, do you have a second home in the Caribbean? 
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dagwood Says
I have a question about real estate in France. Are the details of a house purchase in France in the public record? For example, could I research to find the previous owners of a particular house in France?
Thanks.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:05 am
Pierre Says
There is not public record for purchase in France. French marker is different from US and UK markets. There is no MLS.
You can find information about market trends on http://www.notaires.fr or http://www.fnaim.fr
May 31st, 2007 at 11:42 am
pierre Says
Hi Dagwood.
You can’t! There is no public record for property sales in France. Only “notaire” got the information. But they keep it private
Jun 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
David Says
Well I bought a second home in France and decided I would turn it into my only home. My goal of renovating a property in south west france has nearly come to fruition - and what a house; I could never afford anything like this in the U.K. without winning the lottery.
Dec 9th, 2007 at 2:03 am