French banks under pressure to lend less to non-residents

I think there is no doubt that it is harder now to obtain a mortgage in France than it has been for some time. The French banks have all taken a hit from the Greek write downs and the new Basle minimum capital requirements are making in more expensive for banks to lend money. If you add to this a securitised Bond market which is also looking more carefully at the make-up of the bundles of mortgages being securitised we have a return to sanity which is unfortunate for those seeking “non-standard” loans which is making it harder for non-residents to borrow in France.

On a positive note I think there is a natural filtering mechanism in place in that it seems that only those who are able to obtain funding in France are applying with us. There are many people who have not been affected negatively by the crisis in terms of their spending power. These people are exactly the type who are our main clients and also exactly the type of borrowers the banks are seeking. So while we have seen a 50% fall in the number of people visiting our website to find a mortgage in France, our levels of enquires are steady over the past 12 months. The French market is expected to slow down this year and those looking to get out of it will most likely accept good offers which puts those house hunting this year in France in a very good position.

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