Winter Viewing Trips

Winter In France, Ideal For Viewings

Many people decide to go searching for a home in France in the spring or summer so that they can enjoy the good weather. In fact, this is probably the worst time to plan a viewing trip.

Four good reasons to choose a winter trip: 

– Travel and accommodation is cheaper

– Agents have more time to devote to your search

– You will see the area and the house at its worst

– Owners will be keen to sell and prepared to negotiate even more so than in the summer when they always think there may be another buyer out there

There are definitely good deals on flights and ferries in the winter and some wonderful hotels have tempting prices and self-catering cottages come very cheap indeed, some offering prices around 25% of the cost of summer accommodation. 

In the busy summer months our partner agents are often reluctant to spend half a day or more with people who are just on an ‘exploratory ‘ trip but as business slows down in the winter they have a little more spare time and are happy to show you around possible houses even if you aren’t quite in a position to buy.

Winter is such a good time to do your research. If you are planning to buy a home for full time living it really is essential to see the area in winter. Once the summer tourists leave France some areas get better for the local inhabitants but others die down and certainly do not have the charm which comes with the warm, sunny days of summer.

All those owners who were hoping for a sale in 2016 are getting desperate and are likely to be very ready to negotiate on the price. They will no longer be waiting for a better offer and you are unlikely to be pushed into a quick decision because there are other offers on the table.

So, my advice is, consider getting out to France during the next six months, it could make for a very successful trip.