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European Heritage Days 2026: ideas for visits in France
Over 28,000 events are set to host visitors for free on September 19 and 20
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France weather update: highs of 35C next week as high-pressure system returns
Lack of rain will lead to worsened drought conditions
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Second home construction banned on Ile d’Yeu in western France
Island sees homes quadruple as population barely changes
Mortgage rates ‘pop’ fears of bubble
Fears France could be facing a property ‘bubble’ have been calmed by the Banque de France market figures for April/May, which showed people were giving far less of their monthly budgets to repayments than before the 2008 crash.
While there was an unprecedented 36% rise in mortgage applications last year, 85% of them were for main homes and 12% for investment property.
The central bank said all categories of earners were involved and 10% were earning under €20,000 a year.
In all, €137billion of lending was at rates averaging 1.5% in late 2016. Importantly, that meant buyers had had to give over far less of their pay to be able to afford the property, just 24% on average.
