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Germany, France, Belgium and especially Spain all have bad news.
Pound goes back to almost 1.28 versus Euro (official rate, not Thomas Cook office rate).
Maybe Summer holidays in Europe won’t be that expensive afterall.
“Spain’s business federation warned that Spanish unemployment will rise by 500,000 by the summer unless the government takes “valiant measures” to offset the housing and construction crash. “For every dwelling not built, two workers will lose their jobs,” said the group’s president, Gerardo Diaz Ferran.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/25/cneuro125.xml
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@ralita wrote:
Germany, France, Belgium and especially Spain all have bad news.
Pound goes back to almost 1.28 versus Euro (official rate, not Thomas Cook office rate).
Maybe Summer holidays in Europe won’t be that expensive afterall.
“Spain’s business federation warned that Spanish unemployment will rise by 500,000 by the summer unless the government takes “valiant measures” to offset the housing and construction crash. “For every dwelling not built, two workers will lose their jobs,” said the group’s president, Gerardo Diaz Ferran.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/25/cneuro125.xml
Good spot.
I’ve been in the UK for the past two years, I’m thinking of going back to Europe this summer. By my reckoning in the next couple of years there will be some bargains around but I think you’ll have to live around the area and know the people to know of particular bargain areas.
I’m not sure about Spain though. I reckon that France has had a similar boom but it isn’t as overpopulated and spoiled…..or lacking in water.
Please feel free to comment, it’s just a feeling and I do listen to feedback. Thanks.
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maseratialfa wrote:The point is that we have bad news also in the UK and not only in the other European countries.
There are of course many bady news from UK, this is why the Pound is so low.
Only now the bad news start coming from continental Europe, this will determine a readjustement of Euro to a more normal level versus Pound and Dollar.
It will be a race to the bottom.
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@maseratialfa wrote:
The point is that we have bad news also in the UK and not only in the other European countries.
Worldwide in fact. I’d say that now is a good time to consider where you would like to live and rent there for a few years until any thought of property investment is considered insane. Then you might get some serious bargains in places where people no longer find it feasible to commute to.
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@chilly wrote:
Mike, i doubt you would ever get any real bargains in France that would be worth having. and if you did, its one of the most expensive places in europe to live.
A one bedroom flat, well positioned in Marseille, would cost roughly 600€ a month to rent with gas, water and electricity included. I reckon I could live quite well on another 750€ a month which is within my budget. A French language course would cost me 900€ over 24 weeks at 6 hours study a week.
By doing this I could sit out the credit crunch and see which countries are affected in what way and in particular what it does to the property market. That way I will have had great fun in a seedy town, learned a new language (I could speak French fairly well 25 years ago) and be well positioned to take advantage of any collapse in prices in France.
You might be correct that France will not throw up any bargains but then I won’t buy and if prices get too expensive I can always return to the UK or maybe move back to Spain if, as I expect, prices get silly on the way down.
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@mike wrote:
A one bedroom flat, well positioned in Marseille, would cost roughly 600€ a month to rent with gas, water and electricity included. I reckon I could live quite well on another 750€ a month which is within my budget. A French language course would cost me 900€ over 24 weeks at 6 hours study a week.
be careful. some property ask for the rent through ‘favours’. 😯
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@shakeel wrote:
Mike you are better off in Nice, it offers everything truly cosmopolitan. If you cant speak French you will not be sent to the guillotine.
Thanks, Shakeel. I will first get myself stablished and then look around the area. I used to sell ice cream on the beach at St Laurent du Var and I enjoyed that area but I didn’t know Nice very well.
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@Fuengi wrote:
@mike wrote:
A one bedroom flat, well positioned in Marseille, would cost roughly 600€ a month to rent with gas, water and electricity included. I reckon I could live quite well on another 750€ a month which is within my budget. A French language course would cost me 900€ over 24 weeks at 6 hours study a week.
be careful. some property ask for the rent through ‘favours’. 😯
I’m prepared to make some sacrifices for a bargain! 😯
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Hi Mike,
i just went on a very fruitless trip to France (admittedly looking at the bottom end of the market)
i went to Champagne- Ardenne and looked at some VERY remote “rural” properties which needed so much work it would have been cheaper to knock them down and start again.have you looked at http://www.1stforfrenchproperty.com it looks great til you get over there and realise that the nearest shop is 20km away. on the plus side, take a look at the other end of the market, wow euro millions here we come lol
i have no connection with this site and understand that mark may delete this web address if he thinks its advertising.
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I have no experience of French property overall. I do visit a lot as my Daughter lives there. I do get the impresion that you get more for your money than spain.
It may have been one of the most expensive places in Europe but not so now. It is easy to compare like for like with the euro and I find a lot of foodstuffs are less expensive in Paris than marbella. It is also reasonable to eat out and the food and service is better quality than here. Would I want to live there?…No 🙂 -
i agree, Katy,
i don t think i’d like to live in most parts of France and i class myself as a Francophile (what is the Spanish equivalent?)but i would say that the area around Perpignan: Argeles, Canet etc would hold more appeal for me than all the costas put together. there’s something amazing about the Pyrenees as a backdrop to life.
on the downside, i don’t think it would be possible to make a living as a foreigner, certainly not as easy as Spain.
As far as service goes, i saw a waiter hold cutlery up in the air to inspect it because customers complained it was dirty and when he returned with the “clean” cutlery, he threw it on the table and walked away!!
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Hi Chilly
Took holidays in France for many years before we started going to Spain, went mostly to the areas around Narbonne and Sete, lovely beach countryside. etc. etc. but it basicaly closed down in September.
Even though circumstance has forced us back to the UK I still recommend Costa Blanca (North)easy to get to Alicante or Valencia airport, only 3 1/2 hours to Barcelona and 5hours drive to France, and if you keep away from the coastal resorts of Javea and Moraira prices good with not too many brits but hopefully enough to earn a crust
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@chilly wrote:
Hi Mike,
i just went on a very fruitless trip to France (admittedly looking at the bottom end of the market)
i went to Champagne- Ardenne and looked at some VERY remote “rural” properties which needed so much work it would have been cheaper to knock them down and start again.That kind of property doesn’t interest me, too remote.
@chilly wrote:
have you looked at http://www.1stforfrenchproperty.com
I’ll have a look at that, thanks. But as I said earlier I intend to sit things out for a while and see what happens. I reckon that there will be some real bargains in time in Europe but I don’t know where or when. Having another language widens my opportunity.
My experience in Spain has taught me that speaking the language is very important as it allows one to chat with locals and get a feel for what’s really going on and what to avoid. For example, in Spain I knew one person to avoid when the owner of my local called him “sin verguenza”
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