Daniel Féau and its international subsidiary, Belles Demeures de France report on sales in Paris

The market for premium apartments and town houses picked up significantly this summer, in particular because of the drop in prices of these types of properties and the arrival of buyers from the Middle and Near East.

Many of our clients from the Near East do not hide the fact that they are trying to escape the growing insecurity of the region, linked to the situation in Syria.

Since the beginning of the summer, the total amount of the sales made by Daniel Féau and its international subsidiary, Belles demeures de France, has grown rapidly, notably in the segment of exceptional properties.

An illustration of this phenomenon … sold a town house located on the Right Bank for the sum of 44 million Euros; a 2,600 sqm private residence which was purchased by a family from the Middle East. Both the buyer and the seller are enthusiastic collectors of contemporary art and the residence’s sumptuous reception areas provide the large volumes perfect for displaying works of art.

This sale is far from being the only one that shows the renewed interest of foreigners in the market for beautiful Parisian homes. In the last few months, Daniel Féau and Belles demeures de France have in effect seen a resurgence of the international clientele that had become rarer since the summer of 2012.    

Daniel Féau and Belles demeures de France have never sold as many apartments to Americans as they have in the last three months; the Americans, who have always loved Paris, appreciate that the new taxation measures have only marginally affected foreigners. This question of the image of the French tax system for foreigners remained a major concern for international buyers even though it relates to them only when the transaction involves capital gains.

Buyers from Russia also remain very present in the market; they too are seeking to invest their assets in places that offer a certain degree of security.

The  fall in prices, more marked in the luxury market than in average transactions, and the feeling that buying during a period that offers the opportunity of getting a good deal, are also factors contributing to the return of foreign clients.