In a publication entitled “Global Cities Investment Monitor 2015” ,the KMPG study shows that Paris is exceeded only by London and Shanghai in global rankings of cities attractive to investors. By contrast, New York is fifth.

The French capital’s rise from eight place in 2014 to third in 2015 is reflected every day in the offices of Just France Sales. We see Americans and other US-dollar-based buyers buying up residential properties at rates not seen since before the Recession. According to the KMPG study, in 2014 36% of overall investment capital in Paris came from North America.

Favorable developments on the capital gains and inheritance issues

And there’s more good news for property buyers: two long-time thorns have now been removed from the sides of non-French buyers who have bought or are thinking of acquiring second homes in France.

The first is that the 15.5% “social security” tax on capital gains has been removed by order of the European Union Court. The Court found that imposing the tax only on non-French owners violated principles of equal treatment, since unlike French taxpayers, foreigners derived no benefit from French social services.

The second change – a major boon in particular to American buyers – is that non-French buyers can opt out of French inheritance laws and pass on property to their heirs as they choose.

This new European Union regulation is effective August 17, 2015. It allows an owner to create a will in his or her own country, and designate that will as the controlling instrument. Heretofore non-resident owners have been obliged to conform to French inheritance laws that create statutory legacies for certain family members, regardless of the legator’s desires. Heretofore the only way to avoid such laws was to pursue the expensive and somewhat cumbersome remedy of creating a special French real estate corporation (SCI) with at last two shareholders.

The eternal allure of Paris

Finally there is the allure of Paris itself, a city that celebrates a rich and variegated history even as it presses ahead toward new frontiers in art and social ideas. Paris is still the most sought-after tourist destination in the world, yet it is constantly evolving. The fabulous Fondation Luis Vuitton museum in Bois de Boulogne, the gorgeously renovated and universally acclaimed Picasso Museum in the Marais, and development of the “Grand Paris Express” rapid transit line are but three examples of Paris’ being in the forefront of a rapidly changing world.

Good for the soul and good for the portfolio

What else is new in Paris? More bike lanes, yet another Métro line, non-polluting buses, a wave of exciting new restaurants with an Asian flair, a bigger and better Paris Plage on the Seine, all this in addition to the usual cultural feast of avant-garde opera, ballet and theatre. The City of Light continues to reinvent itself in in ways that delight the senses, stimulate the intellect and enrich the soul. That Paris can do this and still be good for your portfolio is a miracle few other cities can match.