MARKET REPORT

EVERY Parisian knows that July 14 is Bastille Day, but will they recognise November 14 as Gare du Nord day? One changed the course of French history, the other changed the journey time from London. The new link from St Pancras will shave nearly an hour off the return journey, giving couples longer for a romantic weekend break in the City of Light.

Paris’s central position in Europe’s high speed rail network will ensure that demand remains high for square footage in Central Paris. But there’s always that ticklish question to answer: buy-to-live or buy-to-let? Laurel Conway, of the Paris-based estate agency Philip Hawkes, explains: “We get a lot of investors wanting to buy with the intention of letting, but then they fall so in love with the apartments they buy that they want to be able to use them.”

If you do decide to let, should you opt for long-term unfurnished or short-term furnished? Xavier Fouquerand, of Paris Address, a lettings management company, says: “There is a minimum contract of three years with a long-term rental in France, but there is a bigger risk of tenants who don’t pay.”

Market report on Paris

BACKGROUND

• A vintage prospect

• The height of quality

• Ski right into pole position

• France for commuters

• The history woman

Related Internet Links

• French property

BACKGROUND

• Posh French pads that pay their way

• Tempted by truffles

• A miraculous corner of France

• Le grand fromage

• The Brit who bought a French vineyard

BACKGROUND

• Whose house is it anyway?

• French moves

• Fast track invasion of France

• French Mistress: They’re French, therefore they think

French law errs on the side of the tenant. Landlords will generally have higher occupancy rates, fewer regular maintenance and management costs but bigger redecoration costs between tenancies. However, if there is a breakdown in the landlord/tenant relationship it can take a long time to resolve. Renting a furnished apartment for shorter periods is different. “With short-term rentals you get higher rents but there are bigger running costs for cleaning between lets. However, you can raise the rent more frequently and you can more easily use the place yourself,” Fouquerand says The overall rental returns for short-term lets are potentially more lucrative, in some cases almost double the profit on a long-term rental, depending on the market sector. For obvious reasons, the tourist market is a popular choice for overseas buyers. American tourists in particular favour the well known Marais, Latin Quarter, St Germain and Ile St Louis districts. They also like power showers and more bathrooms than the original apartment designers envisaged, so with some purchases creative plumbing may be necessary. In Montmartre, which also comes up as a big blip on the tourist radar, Philip Hawkes has a charming 71 sq m historic maisonette for sale for €980,000, with an interior decorated with 18th-century panelling salvaged from a château.

Another possible lettings market is the corporate tenant. Here the focus would be on areas with good schools, access to parks and good transport links. One fourbed family apartment in a smart 1930s listed block directly opposite the OECD headquarters in the 16th arrondissement is for sale for €2.15 million; it has a vast 59 sq m reception room.

Students are another source of tenants, and although many are priced out of the smarter areas, they fuel high demand for the smaller studio spaces in the Parisian property market. They are so popular that it may be beneficial to use a specialist property finder.

For everything you need to know about the property market in France, go to: timesonline.co.uk/frenchproperty

Click here to search for properties for sale in Paris and the surrounding area on propertyfinder.com

Click here to search for properties for sale in Paris on properazzi.com

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers