France has always been a popular destination for Francophile Brits wishing to escape to the Continent for a more relaxed lifestyle. New research conducted by HiFX reveals that France saw a 17% increase in property enquiries between August and September this year and it now accounts for approx. 28% of all enquiries made to HiFX.


It seems that France’s upsurge in popularity amongst foreign property buyers has been largely due to vastly improved transport links from the UK, making it highly attractive to investors, particularly in easily accessible towns along the Eurostar route.  The new High Speed One section of the Eurostar line opened earlier this year, cutting journey time between Paris and London by 20 minutes.  According to Mark Bodega, director of currency exchange specialists, HiFX, “an increased number of people are spending two or three days a week working in the UK and the rest of the time living in their French homes”. 


The trend to enjoy the best of both worlds looks set to continue, particularly in the light of French property prices remaining on average some 30% lower than those in the UK and in the Pas de Calais region, so conveniently close to the UK, they are one third less than the rest of France!

Other countries that HiFX reveals have experienced a surge of interest from overseas property enquiries are Poland, Portugal and Cyprus, with Poland now accounting for 12% of all enquiries.