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Decrease in British nationals migrating to France

According to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, (IPPR) the number of British nationals leaving the UK to live abroad has dropped dramatically in the past few years.

Up until 2007, there were approximately 200,000 British citizens emigrating every year, but since then this figure has reduced dramatically with estimates for 2009 showing 134,000 British emigrants, a drop of 23 percent on the previous year.  (Source : Office for National Statistics)

The often cited cause of Britons emigrating has been dissatisfaction with the situation in the UK, with crime, unemployment and over crowding been the main drivers mentioned.  According to the IPPR, this is not the case and most Britons moving abroad are going due to a job opportunity or simply a different lifestyle.

The substantial drop in 2009 clearly coincides with the recession and collapse of the Pound / Euro exchange rate.  The housing market in France is a clear indicator of the strength of interest in France and during 2009, all the estate agents that Guide2MidiPyrenees spoke to were talking of a very significant slowdown.

Happily, 2010 has shown a turnaround, with house purchase enquiries on the increase, along with sales and the Pound has gained against the Euro, but still has a long way to go to reach the levels of 2008 and earlier.

It is obviously impossible to know now, but when the figures are released for 2010 it would be surprising if there were not a small increase in the number of people moving to France.  Only time will tell.  For now, optimism has returned and the value of the pound has increased, making a move possible from a financial point of view.

The new found optimism may be short lived however, with reports from the UK suggesting the recovery is very shaky and mentions in the media of a double dip recession.  This is backed up by a half percent fall in UK  house prices in July and buyers remaining cautious.  This however may be masking the real problem, which is reported to be the lack of good, reasonably priced mortgages.

So what for the future?  Undoubtedly, the next year at least is going to be unsteady, with the danger of a return to recession looming over the UK’s economy and the French economy not fairing much better.  Now could still be a great time to buy that dream property in the Midi-Pyrenees if you can afford to.  European interest rates are very low, the market has improved but is still nowhere near the boom levels of a few years ago and the exchange rate has returned to a level that is almost bearable. 

Add to that the number of properties that have been on the market for a long time, years in some cases, some with buyers that need to get back to the UK and it looks very much like a buyers market.

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