Writing in Forbes magazine in 2012 Kenneth Rapoza said that “Baron de Rothschild the 18th century British nobleman and member of the ultra-secretive and original one-percenter Rothschild banking family, is credited with telling investors the trick to making money is to “buy when there’s blood in the streets.” None of us believe that there is blood in the streets, however, this quote is a nod to the importance of timing the cycles correctly and to these ends we believe that the economic timing could not be better.
We have waited for some time to write this blog, always cautious of the accusation that we are agents and therefore of course we would say that this is the time to buy. But the thing is, we really do believe now is the time to buy and these are the reasons that we feel support our viewpoint.
European recovery. Writing in the New York Times Business section on March 25th David Jolly stated that one of the measures of business sentiment in the Eurozone hit its highest level in almost four years. Markit Economics, a data analysis firm based in London, said on March 24th that its March survey of purchasing managers across the 19 nation Eurozone showed output expanding at the quickest pace since May 2011.
Janet Henry chief European economist at HSBC in London pointed to the acceleration in retail spending. While Chris Williamson the chief economist at Markit Economics said that France is expanding at the fastest rate since 2011 while Germany is showing signs of strong German growth.
Quantitative Easing. Mario Draghi was quoted as saying that “the basis for the economic recovery in the euro area has clearly strengthened.” This comes on the back of the first month of a bond buying strategy by the European Central Bank at the rate of 60 billion Euros per month through to September 2016.
Weak Euro. France has never looked so cheap to those looking at it from abroad. With the Euro touching 1.06 to the dollar in March it has settled now at about 1.10 but when compared to a year ago when it was around 1.35 clearly value for money is evident.
Local market. Bordeaux has seen massive infrastructure investments over the past 15 years transforming its centre and making it one of the most desirable cities in Europe. The “cité des Civilisations du vin” museum is due to open next year and Bordeaux currently is home to the largest real estate development project in France surrounding the museum along the banks of the Garonne river. According to European Best Destinations who conducted an online survey of some 250,000 people, Bordeaux came in first out of 20 top European cities beating Lisbon and Athens into second and third places.
Even the wine growers, after a dreadful 2013 vintage, are really enthusiastic about the 2014 which promises to be a solid vintage for them if not one of the banner years.
The luxury real estate market has remained flat now for at least three years and although we are not forecasting a sudden spike in prices over a short period of time, we do believe that there has never been a better time to look at the fantastic real estate in the Bordeaux region.