Property buyers have long since flocked to France lured by a relaxed lifestyle, gourmet food, excellent wines and a touch of romance. France has it all - history, art, culture, cuisine, wine and a vast array of property, from stately castles to modern apartments and everything in between. The county’s substantial coastline has huge and empty sandy beaches, with vineyards located a few kilometres inland. Moving towards France’s picturesque interior the landscape transforms again and mountains foothills provide a dramatic backdrop. It is probably easier to understand the allure of French property, this is a market with literally something for everyone – from Calais to the Pyrenees, from Brittany to Alsace, the desire to buy a property in France has captured the imagination of countless visitors.

Some interest in France can be attributed to the explosion in access to the country; t he increasing number of budget fares on offer from the low-cost airlines has opened up large parts of France’s lesser known departments. Mainstream resorts are well serviced by excellent roads infrastructure, regular ferry routes have made France’s accessibility is second to none with the south of France benefited the most from extra exposure.

Overall property values haven’t risen drastically, in most parts of France, property prices continue increasing slowly but surely, spurred on by the successful French government backed Residence de Tourisme scheme which involves the waiving Vat of up to 19.6 per cent on property in certain areas considered to be of sufficient tourist importance. France is the largest single tourist market in the world, with up to 70 million tourists visiting each year - ten million more than the country's actual population and part of the motivation behind the leaseback scheme. The combination of a trouble-free investment, options for holiday usage and a guaranteed rental return has proved irresistible to French property buyers.

It is important to keep your wits about you when buying a property in France - the bureaucracy is as famous as the wine, so good financial and legal advice is a must. Finally French inheritance and capital gains laws are also something you should take in account.
A sound investment all round, there is no doubt that interest in French property looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.