Paris Is A Real Deal…Still!
First a word of thanks to all of you who responded to Wednesday’s newsletter message. I received dozens of letters from both men and women who were struck by their own realization of both the cultural and sexual clashes!
Interestingly, on the whole, the women had fascinating stories of their experiences in France being admired by men and how much they appreciated it…”I loved having men look me in the eye as we passed one another on the sidewalk. I took it for granted that these men, from young 20-somethings on up, found me attractive by the way they looked at me. It made me feel great, and I’m sure it’s one of the reasons I love Paris!” I particularly loved this one: “Do you think “faithful reader” will give out the name of her “stalker?” I am
coming to spend 3 weeks in France between December 27 and January 15 and at the age of 56 having been divorced for 8 years, I could use a little attention.”
And then I had the opposite reaction from the men who wrote!…”The behavior that she witnessed was stalking, which is illegal in North America and should not be made light of. Indeed, I’m sure she would/should rather be ignored than to be stalked by some Frenchman, no matter how gallant he might appear.” This reader even warned me…”…given your laissez faire attitude on this type of thing, please be careful.”
And there you have it…not only is there a clash between the French and North American points of view, but between the men and women, too. It’s a lesson to be learned, thanks to all of you.
On a more important note, the International Herald Tribune reported this week that the average price of an apartment in New York City now tops $1 million (read the entire article at http://www.iht.com/articles/534386.html). Bidding wars are breaking out and buyers are paying over the asking price. I’m not surprised — my daughter just rented one-fourth of a loft in Brooklyn at a price close to my monthly mortgage in Paris!
Meanwhile, a new report on cost-of-living (Economist Intelligence Unit) claims Paris is Europe’s most expensive city and I beg to differ! It positions Tokyo as number 1, Osaka as number 2 and Paris as 3rd most expensive city to live in. Au contraire mes amis! A contending report published earlier this year (Mercer) ranked Paris much lower — at 17th place. Tokyo remained the world’s most expensive city and London moved up five places in the rankings to take second position. I can attest to this having spent a weekend there a few weeks ago and watching my stash of British Sterling fly away with every move.
Have a look both surveys before believing one over the other. As a resident of Paris, where life seems like a bargain, I’m skeptical either one is on the mark!: Economist — http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving4.htm, Mercer — http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm
And Paris property prices continue to rise and only seem to be leveling in a few parts of the city. Improvements to the city are constantly underway that are driving property values up — such as the 60 trees they’re currently installing along rue de Bretagne! Don’t you know that my apartment just adjacent to this improvement gets more valuable every day!?
Today’s property picks are real deals — apartments with long term investment growth possibilities in areas of the city that we expect to see prices continue to rise for a long time to come and would make great pied-à-terres to keep you coming to Paris more often. Scroll down to have a look.
A la prochaine…
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
E-mail: [email protected]
P.S. We’ve added Barclays Bank to our roster of lenders — so now it’s even easier to get a mortgage in France! Visit /frenchproperty/insider/mortgage.html for more information
FOR SALE:
Each week Paris Property Picks features a range of properties which we believe are on the market at the time of writing. These properties are featured in order to give readers a sample of what is currently available and a working example of prices being asked in various districts of Paris. As we are not a real estate agency, these properties do not constitute a sales listing. For those readers seriously interested in finding property in Paris or France, you can retain our services to do the whole thing for you. For more information, visit /frenchproperty/insider/propertyconsultation.html
or contact Jocelyn Carnegie at [email protected]
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TWO ROOMS NEAR THE CANAL ST. MARTIN, 10TH
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2 room, 34 m², close to Canal St. Martin, pierre-de-taille building, perfect condition with American kitchen, ideal pied-à-terre.
Asking Price: 160,000 Euros + 2% Finder’s Fee
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TWO ROOMS, NEAR JACQUES BONSERGENT, 10TH
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2 rooms, 46 m², on the 4th floor of a building on a private drive, apartment on two large courtyards, very sunny and quiet, in perfect condition, lots of charm. Close to the Métro and not far from the Canal St. Martian.
Asking Price: 245,000 Euros + 2% Finder’s Fee
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TWO ROOM, RUE DE MARTYRS AND NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE, 9TH
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Two rooms, in an old building recently renovated, on the 4th and last floor, 64 m² total — 43 m² comprising one large room of 40 m² with American kitchen, bedroom and mezzanine of 16 m², bath and toilet, 3-meter high ceilings, wood beams, tile floors, good condition, sunny and quiet.
Asking Price: 294,000 Euros + 2% Finder’s Fee
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TWO ROOMS, QUARTIER VIVIENNE, 2ND
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Two rooms, 64 m², in a new building with gardian, an apartment next to an open garden facing southeast, very quiet, elevator, recently renovated, beautiful entry, kitchen, bath, closets and cabinetry, large living room, bedroom. Parking space possible.
Asking Price: 350,000 Euros + 2% Finder’s Fee
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TWO ROOMS, QUARTIER MONTORGUEIL, 2ND
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Two rooms, 67 m², large living room, parquet flooring, Tudor beams, fireplace.
Asking Price: 380,000 Euros + 2% Finder’s Fee
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FOR SALE:
Each week Paris Property Picks features a range of properties which we believe are on the market at the time of writing. These properties are featured in order to give readers a sample of what is currently available and a working example of prices being asked in various districts of Paris. As we are not a real estate agency, these properties do not constitute a sales listing. For those readers seriously interested in finding property in Paris or France, you can retain our services to do the whole thing for you. For more information, visit /frenchproperty/insider/propertyconsultation.html
or contact Jocelyn Carnegie at [email protected]
To read more, click the links below.