Paris Prices and Money Management

At the end of July 2012, the real estate market in Paris and the  Ile-de-France oscillated between the number of transactions continuing to fall and prices that continue to hold steady, sometimes at a high level.

From May to July 2012, 36,000 existing homes were sold in the  Ile-de-France, a decrease from 21% to 22% over the last two years. This trend is for apartments and houses, as well as all areas of the region.

Prices are still in a phase of resistance, despite a significant decline in sales. In the capital, the price of apartments is 8,410€/m2. The average cost of an apartment is 4,420€/m2 in the “Petite Couronne” and in the “Couronne,” 3,110€/m2. The price of a house in Ile-de-France averaged 311,200€.

According to the latest projections of prices calculated by the Notaires de Paris, in the Ile-de-France on pre-sale contracts, the selling price should fall in Paris by a slight increase over the next two months, then display a very slight decline, with a price at the end of September of 8,580 and 8,550 euros/m2 by the end of October. Beyond these variations, modest moreover, price stabilization dominates the picture.

* Note: The number of sales and price indexes are calculated over three months, therefore “July” corresponds to the period May-June-July, “April” to the period from February to April, etc.

To read the report in its entirety (in French), you may download the pdf report.

Money Management…

America is making it difficult to move money from one currency to another for foreign or ‘off shore’ traders. We have been working with Moneycorp for several years, who have, until now, been able to service U.S. clients in their currency trading activities. ‘Thanks to’ strict U.S. regulations, Moneycorp, as are all the others that are based outside the U.S., is forced to acquire licenses on a state-by-state basis in order to service U.S. clients.

At present, Moneycorp (Global Money Services) is able to make all trades from residents of the following states (incoming and outgoing):

·  Florida
·  Indiana
·  New Mexico
·  Wisconsin

In addition to this, they are now accepting funds from a U.S. resident’s non-U.S. located account (such as your French bank account) and return counter currency to the same U.S. resident’s U.S. based account. To be clear, in this scenario funds must not originate either from a third party or from the client’s U.S. based account and funds must only be paid to the client’s U.S. based account.

Therefore, subject to the above restrictions, they are now able to allow trades for residents of the following States (incoming from France to U.S.):

· California
· Massachusetts
· New Jersey
· New York
· North Carolina
· Washington DC

With regards to defining the main residence of a client, Moneycorp can trade normally (incoming and outgoing) for clients who can register with Moneycorp under their non-US address — if they have proof of residency (e.g. recent utilities bill, less than 3 months old).

This means that if you have a visa to reside in France, and have a lease or own a property, then you may be able to trade with Moneycorp.

For example: Mr Smith owns a property in New York and one in Paris. If he registers under his Parisian address (with a copy of ID + recent invoice or other proof, less than three months old) then Moneycorp can trade with him normally (outgoing and incoming). However, if he cannot send proof of residency in France, Moneycorp will only be able to send funds from France to the U.S., but not from the U.S. to France.

We are trying to find another, better solution. Stay tuned.

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider

Email: [email protected]

P.S. For those of you wishing to reserve a Parler Paris or Parler Nice Apartment, do not respond to this newsletter or to me personally. Visit our site and submit a rental request or email [email protected]. If you are considering making an investment in Paris, Nice or elsewhere in France and would like to learn more about the process and how we can assist, visit French Property Consultation or email [email protected].