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US$1 equals Ffr6.1 Two months ago, I would have told you that you could buy Paris real estate for a song-studio apartments were selling in off-the-beaten-path Paris for as little as $50,000. But then, two months ago, I was mugged in broad streetlight one night while looking for a taxi in a neighborhood where I had gone apartment shopping earlier in the day. I spent the rest of the night in a police station and a hospital. So now I'm heeding the advice of my Parisian "high society" friends, and recommend that you do the same: Spend the extra money and buy in an upscale part of town. The investment will pay off in a number of ways. Let me put this in perspective for you: A strong dollar and a weak franc mean great prices It's only been a couple of years since the exchange rate was 4 francs to the U.S. dollar. The past few weeks, the rate of exchange has fluctuated between 5.9 and 6.2 francs to the dollar. What that means ... you can buy one-of-a-kind properties today in Paris at two-thirds the price of just a few years ago. The reason for this great discount is simple: The dollar is stronger now than it's been in years. Meanwhile, the French economy is sagging. Unemployment is close to 14 %. (Another reason to buy in a "good" part of town-crime is rising in parts of town populated by immigrants and the poorer French, but it seems to be confined to those areas.) It's a buyer's market The icing on the cake is that you can find mortgage rates as low as 5.3 to 5.6%. Unlike many of the destinations we write about every month-countries where you have to produce the cash up front to make a property purchase-France has financing. (See "The banks of Paris" oil this page.) Many people believe that the real-estate market here will become even more attractive once all the countries of the European Union switch to a single currency, the Euro. The general lack of faith most Europeans seem to have in Country by-country currency controls could mean that economies across Europe will fall through the floor, causing real-estate prices to drop even more. But right now, no one really knows what will happen when Europe goes to the Euro. What is certain is that there's never been a better time since the carly'80s to buy in Paris than right now. Live, near the banks of the Seine Paris is full of beautiful neighborhoods, safe places to walk alone the day or night. The most interesting quarters are in the first through seventh arrondisements, in the center of Paris along the Seine. It is here that Parisian culture flourishes, where you can leave your front door and walk a few blocks to the Musée d'Orsay, the opera, or the Louvre or just go window-shopping or for an evening stroll along the lit quais of the river. In the morning, you can go to bakery just across the street for croisants straight from the oven and then buy fresh-cut flowers from the street market for your table, stop at a café for coffee or pastis. You might stop to chat with your Australian or Spanish neighbors, look over the shoulder of an oil painter, or give directions to a lost tourist. Paris is still the world's first city where people from everywhere come for work or vacation, and many of decide to stay for a while. You'll re about the "Paris of Eastern Europe or the "Paris of South America." Bi when it comes right down to it, there's only one Paris. There are two parts of Paris along the Seine that are particularly attractive for foreign investors: St. Germain des Pr6s and the lie St. Louis. Picasso's neighborhood St. Germain des Pres in the sixth arrondissement has an air about it that has attracted the world's foremost artists and writers for decades. In the 20s, expatriates like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso made their livelihoods here on the once cheap Rive Gauche, the "Left Bank." Hemingway even claimed to have been so destitute that he killed pigeons in Luxembourg Gardens to take home to his flat above a mill for dinner. Unfortunately, the Left Bank's chic factor rose and so did the prices. The legendary caf6 of Sartre and Hemingway fame, Les Deux Magots, is now an expensive tourist trap. Galleries sell paintings by up-and-coming artists for 8,000 francs or more. Although not the cheapest neighborhood in Europe, this neighborhood is one of the most culturally diverse and enriched in all the city. The church on the Place St. Germain des Pr6s has weekly classical-music concerts. You hear every language under the sun, from Brazilian, Portuguese Shona, or Punjabi. And you can't walk a block without passing colorful caf6s or the delicious smells of haute cuisine drifting from restaurant windows. I found a three-room apartment near the square. It's on the fifth floor with a balcony and a terrific view. It's small at 62 sq. meters, but a room with a view comes with a price. It needs some renovation, but you can fix it up however you like. The asking price is Ffr3,500,000. Féau Conseil Immobilier, 21 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, France; tel. (33144)073000, fax-3115. Féau also lists a pied-d-terre on Quai Voltaire with views of the Seine and the Louvre. It has two rooms, two bathrooms, and 80 sq. meters. It's ready for you to move in, and the asking price is Ffr3,500,000. At the heart of St. Germain des Pr6s, there's a charming split-level attic apartment on a quiet street. The building was a private mansion in the 17th century. The asking price is Ffrl,700,000. Contact Placement Pierre, 30 Ave. Rapp, 75007 Paris; tel. (33-145)518883, fax 052483. Island in the heart of Paris In the early 17th century, three French entrepreneurs worked a deal with King Louis XIII. In exchange for the right to develop and sell real estate on two uninhabited islands in the Seine (often used up to that point for duels), they would build stone bridges connected to both sides of the river. The entrepreneurs built the bridges and made the two islands into one: the Ile St. Louis. The IIe St. Louis is small but charming. It's famous for its ice cream and for the views of the Seine and the buttresses of Notre Dame Cathedral on the neighboring Ile de la Cit6 (connected by a pedestrian bridge). It's also one of the more romantic spots in Paris. You can sit at a corner caf6 and listen to busquers sing and play guitar or accordion to passersby. While there are many tourists here, it's not overrun. Property here sells for Ffr30,OOO per sq. meter up to Ffr65,000 per sq. meter on the south side of the island (the side with sunny views of the Seine and Notre Dame). Again, the attraction of living on Ile St. Louis is to own a piece of history in a beautiful part of town. It's one of the more expensive areas because of its location, but you can still find bargains. For instance, there's a two-room apartment for sale right on the Seine for Ffrl,500,000. Contact l'Immobilier en I'lle St. Louis, 62 rue SaintLouis-en-171e, 75004 Paris; tel. (33143)262263, fax 517017. It needs to be totally renovated when the French were building these homes in the 17th century, they didn't have indoor plumbing and all of the mansions were one-family homes. Now, they've mostly been divided into apartments. Studios are the cheapest buys on Ile St. Louis. Agence Saint-Louis en I'lle , 10 rue Boutarel, 75004 Paris; tel. (33-143)293000, fax 296237 lists a number of small apartments in the Ffr610,000 range, from a 19-sq.-mt. studio on rue le Regrattier for FfrS45,000 to a 25-sq.-mt. apartment for Ffr720,000. They sound tiny for the price, but keep in mind that you can rent them out furnished for Ffr12,200 a week to summer tourists and Ffr7,320 or more a month the rest of the year. And, again, the exchange rate is very favorable. Agence Saint-Louis en I'lle also lists larger properties. A 66-sq.-mt. four-room split-level flat with two bedrooms and exposed beams is for sale at Ffrl,795,000. For Ffr4,500,000, you can own a 17th-century home of 120-sq.-mt. with a living room complete with a fireplace, exposed beams a fully-equipped kitchen that opens to a patio, a bathroom, a large bedroom, an office, and a dressing room. by David Morgan Contacts Féau Conseil Immobilier, 21 rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris; tel. (33144)073000,fax-3115 Placement Pierre, 30 avenue Rapp, 75007 Paris; tel. (33-144)518883, fax 052483 I'Immobilier en I'lle St. Louis, 62 rue Saint-Louis-en-I'lle, 75004 Paris; tel. (33-143)262263, fax 517017 Agence Saint-Louis En I'lle , 10 rue Boutarel, 75004 Paris; tel. (33143)293 000, fax 296237 Groupe des Banques Populaires, 76 Cannon St., London C4N 6AE; tel. (44-171) 82 7-0066, fax -0067 Stéphane Ruzee, Deloitte & Touche, 185 Ave. Charles de Gualle, 92200 Neuilly Sur Seine; tel. (33140)882800 |
