France's 'rich tax' means Paris mansions for sale

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Coldwell BankerThis townhouse in Villa Montmorency, one of the best neighborhoods in Paris, is on the market for about $18 million.By Robert Frank, CNBC.com France’s new 75 percent income tax on the rich may not be popular with millionaires. But it’s being cheered by another group: Paris real-estate buyers.

Real estate agents say that the number of multimillion-dollar real-estate listings in Paris has jumped more than 25 percent over last year – due in part to the threat of the new income tax. More than 400 new listings have come onto the luxury real-estate market over the past six months, they say.

It’s not a sell-off. And brokers caution that the increase in listings brings overall inventories at the high end to normal levels after unusually slim listings last year. Because of building restrictions in Paris and other French cities, the number of homes for sale is still limited.

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