Property sales in France fell by 25% in 2012 and prices fell in most regions, including Normandy and Brittany, which are both popular areas with British buyers.

According to the latest data from the FNAIM, the organisation representing estate agents in France, prices actually increased overall by 0.8% but this figure masks considerable regional variations.

Prices increased the most in Ile de France where they climbed 1.5% and also increased in Provence and the Cote d’Azur by 0.7%. Prices fell the most in lower Normandy, down 5.7%, and were down 5.3% in Brittany.

Figures also show that the difference between the asking price and the sales price increased from 5.1% in 2011 to 5.5% in 2012.

However, the number of days a property is on the market before an offer was made was only 87, down slightly from the highs of 2009, but still well above the 64 days back in 2004.

Standard & Poor’s has forecast that prices will fall by 5% in France in 2013 while figures from different real estate organisations vary. The FNAIM is predicting a fall of up to 2%, while Century 21 is predicting just a 1% drop in sales prices this year.