Buying a house abroad during the recession

Dear Jasmine,
My husband and I are due to retire in a year, both on fairly decent pensions. We’ve always dreamed of selling up, buying a semi-derelict place in the South of France and doing it up, but we’re concerned about the current value of the euro against the pound. I’ve read that a lot of Brits abroad are struggling because their pensions in euros are worth so much less than they were a few years ago, and that the
price of property in euros is now effectively much higher. Do you think we should ‘sit out’ the recession before we consider making the move, or is it worth trying to pick up a bargain property (which will need to offset the decrease in value of our house in the UK) and hoping the pound will fare better in years to come?
Many thanks
Sam and Robert

Jasmine says:
You’ve got a good point there, Sam. The strength of the Euro against Sterling means that property in Europe is now effectively more expensive for us to buy. None of us has a crystal ball but I would say that it would be better to ‘sit out the recession’ as you say before jumping into a property purchase abroad. Many economists say that our economy will bounce back before the Eurozone so it’s possible (though only possible!) that the pound will be stronger against the Euro by this time next year. Also, it will give you more time to save money to buy an even better place. French property prices seem to be fairly stable at the moment as you can see here http://www.france-property-and-information.com/house_prices.htm but I don’t think you need to worry about them getting more expensive while you wait. The French economy is struggling too.