French property prices continue to slow

MORE of the same old story today from France 24, the French based international news TV channel.

House prices in France "are easing" or "stagnating" according to their report while some other european countries are seeing brutal drops.

It refers to figures released by the INSEE, the French national statistics institute, without specifically quoting them but, interestingly, says that INSEE hints that the French housing market could be as vulnerable as countries such as Britain, Ireland and Spain.

This may or may not be slightly alarmist. The report implies that the significant drop in house sales in France as a whole in the first quarter and the fall in houses prices for the first time in a decade is an indicator of something more sinister than a market that is simply stagnating.

In comparison to its neighbours France has, so far, had a lucky escape.

Interest rates are expected to rise tomorrow by a quarter percent to in an effort to curb inflation.