French Riviera Real estate market in 2020-2021. Waiting for Covid prices?
22/06/2021
Since last week the masks are no longer required in France outdoors.
9/06/2021
Everything is open now except the discotheques but there is the curfew from 11 p.m.
For international tourists the France has adopted 3 colours for all contries : green, orange and red , with diffrent rules for the entrance in France.
1/05/2021
French President Macron has finally announced a plan for the nearest future :
3 May - restrictions on movement in the country are lifted, but the curfew from 7 p.m. remains in place.
19 May : the curfew from 9 p.m., reopening of shops, sports clubs, restaurant's terraces ( no more than 6 people at a table), reopening of museums and theatres.
June 9 - the curfew from 11 p.m, reopening of restaurants and borders for foreign tourists.
30 June - the curfew is lifted but discotheques remain closed.
18/03/2021
After 3 week end lockdowns the government imposed a weekly lockdown to the French Riviera. So you can go out for ulimited timing till 7 p.m but the distance is limited of 10 km. If not you need to justify a reason for your trip.
Non essential shops are closed but the hairdressers are open.
Internal Europeen ( +U.K., Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore ) borders remain open and you need the test PCR.
14/03/2021
The 12 March France softened the restrictions for some non-EU contries: Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Singapore. So the travelers coming in France frome these countries have to present only PCR test as the travelers from the other EU countries.
The 13-14 Marsh the third week end lockdown is imposed on the French Riviera.
27/02/2021
The 27-28 February and 6-7 March the weekend lockdown is imposed on the French Riviera – from Menton to Theoule- sur- mer. So for the next week the French Riviera has to combine a curfew with weekend lockdown.
20/02/2021
The French Health Minister arrives in Nice where the virus is active to discuss potential restrictions. As locals are not ready for a new lockdown, nothing was confirmed yet.
31/01/2021
France introduces new restrictions: entry to France from non-EU countries is possible only for serious work or travel reasons, and you need to have PCR test. Travelling in France and elsewhere in Europe remains possible, but is not advised.
15/01/2021
The French Prime minister announced yesterday the program for the next 2 weeks:
- a nightly curfew from 6 p.m to 6 a.m. You need to present a certificate with one of 8 reasons to go out.
- France is open for international flights, but if you arrive from a non-EU country you need to have a negative PCR test, stay in quarantine for 7 days and the do the test again.
- schools are open other than for sports and extra-curricular activities.
Real estate market in 2020
Real estate on the French Riviera is listed among the 10 top activities which haven't been affected by the economic problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Real estate market activity in 2020 compared with 2019 has decreased by only 7%.
What’s the mood on the French Riviera real estate market during the pandemic?
Even during the first lockdown in March 2020, clients didn't lose interest in French Riviera properties. They had more time to hunt for the right property on the internet, and some clients were persuaded that it was a good time to negotiate in fact.
In reality, prices didn’t collapse, and we managed to sell properties which had been on the market for a long time at a high price.
With the easing of the first lockdown from May-September 2020 we had a lot of motivated French and international clients who came to the French Riviera to invest in properties here.
In my case, most of my clients were looking for villas between 1,5 -2 million Euros with a swimming pool, close to the sea. This was also a popular request from French Riviera locals.
Currently, owners are hesitating to bring their properties to market, preferring to wait, so we have a shortage of properties on the luxury French Riviera real estate market. So prices remain high, and, paradoxically, owners tend to increase their prices in the absence of competitive properties coming to market.
There are very motivated clients who are ready to invest in French Riviera real estate by visiting online properties without coming to see them in person. Notaries in France have now made an electronic signature a legal means of completing your transaction. So you don’t need a power of attorney or to be here in person, in order to buy property in France.
So, in this time of lockdowns, quarantines, restrictions and masks, investment in the French Riviera real estate market remains very attractive. The more obstacles there are, and the more uncertain our future becomes, the more people wish to invest in Riviera property.
We continue to work hard searching for beautiful properties and making ourselves available for our clients.
