International investors in the French real estate market may find there are more opportunities to enter the sector following Francois Hollande's victory in the country's presidential elections.

Mr Hollande beat incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy in the polls and has pledged to focus on growth, rather than spending cuts, in a bid to improve France's and the eurozone's economic position.

Managing director of estate agency Leggett Immobilier Trevor Leggett said the new direction set to be taken by the French president will lead to opportunities for real estate investors.

"We are already seeing the euro/sterling rate hitting the 1.25 mark and with French mortgages already among the cheapest in Europe, it looks like there will be plenty of people looking to both buy and sell," he asserted.

However, Danny Silver, managing director of The Villages Group, pointed out that, as the vote was only for the president and not the entire government, there will be very little fundamental change for the French property sector.