British buyers are likely to find some excellent deals available on French properties this year.

This is according to Nick Dowlatshahi, managing director at Leapfrog Properties, who said 2009 was a good year for investors in France.

He noted that buyers will also find bargains around this over the next 12 months, "but probably not the year after".

There are good deals to be had on properties that were built more than a year ago, as "developers are keen to pay their loans back to the bank", Mr Dowlatshahi explained.

He added that although destinations such as the Cote d'Azur and Paris are always popular, they are often twice as expensive as homes elsewhere.

According to International Living magazine's Quality of Life Index, which was published earlier this year, France is the best country to live in, followed by Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.

Luxembourg, Canada and Italy also made the top ten.

Posted by Emily Sanders