The price of old farm properties in France fell by an average of 4.1% in 2008, although sales were down by nearly 20%.

The figures come from the annual report on the French agricultural property market by SAFER, the French rural land agency.

Although the number of country property sales that pass through SAFER each year is only a fraction of the total of such sales, the role of the agency in the rural land market makes their annual report an important barometer of what is taking place.

The average price of property sold through the agency in 2008 was €211,000, down from €220,000 a year earlier.

Despite the modest fall, the spatial distribution of prices across the country remained fundamentally the same.

Highest prices in excess of €250,000 were to be found around Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Tours, Angers and Biarritz, across the Mediterranean coast, in the Rhone Valley and the Haute Savoie.

Cheaper farm properties under €120,000 were to be found mainly in the Auvergne, Centre, Limousin, Ariege, parts of Brittany and the North West (Haute-Marne and Ardennes).

The largest drop in prices was in Lorraine, Calvados, Morbihan, Vendee, Aveyron, Cantal, Ardeche, Indre and Cher.

By contrast, prices increased slightly along parts of the Mediterranean coast, the Alpes, the Pyrenees, and parts of the Ile de France.

Sales Down by 19%

Perhaps of greater significance was that the number of transactions dropped by 19%.

Sales to international buyers accounted for 8% of total sales. At the a height of the French property market in 2002-2004 the figure was nearer 15%.

International buyers often find it difficult to buy property through SAFER due to their somewhat arcane purchase procedures and the priority given to the indigenous agricultural community.

In the past, allegations of ‘cronyism’ have been made against the agency, and it is certainly of interest to note that over 60% of sales last year went to those who already lived in the department where the property was located.

Whatever the strength of these allegations, the low number of international buyers last year also reflects the wider downturn in the market.

International buyers still account for over 20% of such sales in some departments, notably in parts of Brittany, Normandy and other departments in the South West, but this is less about strong interest from abroad in these areas than the more general contraction in sales.

Thus, although total sales were down an average of 19% last year on 2007, there were falls of up to 30% in many departments.

The fall in sales has been greatest in those rural areas furthest from urban conurbations, with the exception of Indre, Allier and the Hautes-Alpes, where sales actually increased.

Last year, buyers from the UK accounted for 55% (1600) of international sales via SAFER, down from a high point of 78% (4500) in 2004.

Buyers from Belgium and the Netherlands accounted for 12% and 13% respectively of international sales. The number of buyers from these two countries has increased each year over the past decade.

While Brittany and Normandy had a clear predominance of British buyers, the Dordogne and environs was shared with buyers from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Within the Mediterranean regions there was a greater diversity in the nationality of buyers, but there were only a small number of purchasers from any single country.