French property prices seen to fall by 4% this year

[PARIS] French house prices will probably fall by as much as 4 per cent this year after dropping 2.9 per cent in 2013 as buyers were deterred by unemployment, taxes and regulations, a property brokers group said.

Sales of previously owned houses and apartments may drop to around 650,000 from 668,000 last year, the FNAIM French federation of 12,000 brokers, said on Tuesday. Transactions declined 5.1 per cent in 2013 to a four-year low.

"There's a wait-and-see attitude among clients because of fears about the future, and uncertainties about growth and unemployment," FNAIM chairman Jean-Francois Buet said at a press conference here on Tuesday. "Investors are also facing uncertainties about a government plan to cap rents, and about capital-gains taxes."