Commuting between France and the UK

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by Kay Murchie

With property becoming unaffordable for many in the UK, Britons are choosing to live in France while working in the UK. The country has always been a popular holiday home destination for Brits according to HIFX, a UK financial services company.

The company, which also deals with international property buying, has reported a 17% increase in enquiries from British buyers about property in France between August and September. The company believes this increase took place just as a new faster Eurostar service was announced by Eurotunnel.

Having cheaper or more lucrative property is not all for those still choosing to work in the UK, a return train trip between London and Paris can cost around £90, less than 50% of the cost of a journey between London and Manchester. Not only are properties cheaper across the Channel, it seems travelling is too.

HIFX are not the only one seeing this growing trend, VEF, the French property specialists, have also noticed a rise in the amount of people who spend 2 or 3 days a week working in the UK and the rest of the time living in their permanent homes in France. VEF added that French property was 30% cheaper than in the UK.

Research from Savills suggests that France is now the leading European destination for British second home buyers. In addition, the group said there is a good market for buy-to-let investors, with average rental income per property at £15,645.