On September 26, 2023, recent research results showed a mixed picture of the development of housing prices in France. In coastal areas, home prices are rising, while in major cities, we are seeing the opposite, as reported by the newspaper Le Monde on September 23, 2023. Le Monde cites a study conducted by the French Notaries in collaboration with Fnaim, the National Real Estate Federation.
Seaside Resorts and Ski Areas
The French sun and the sea remain attractive, and rising financing costs have less of an impact on the market in these areas. Cities like Antibes, Fréjus, Nice, Nîmes, and Perpignan continue to see their property prices rise. The average cost per square meter of living space in the region along the French southern coast ranges from 2,000 to 5,000 euros. Antibes, in particular, stands out, with houses now being sold for EUR 10,000 per square meter, and in Cannes, prices can reach as high as EUR 12,000! The overall trend in housing prices in France is declining, but tourist areas seem to be an exception. Over the past year, property prices in ski resorts and seaside resorts have increased by 6% and 3.8%, respectively. A significant factor is the strong demand for homes from retirees and second-home buyers in these areas. They are affluent and therefore less dependent on financing. Homes in cities along the Atlantic coast are also in high demand, although price increases there are slightly less pronounced. However, properties in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Biarritz, and Anglet remain consistently expensive, with average prices per square meter of 10,000 and 7,000 euros, respectively.
Cities
The largest price corrections are seen in major cities. Nantes has seen a decrease of 3.1%, Saint-Nazaire -6.8%, Bordeaux -2%, and Lyon -3.1%. In the metropolitan area of Île-de-France (Paris), prices have decreased by an average of 4% (representing 18% of the French market). The price per square meter has now fallen below the symbolic threshold of 10,000 euros. The inner city neighbourhoods, in particular, have been hit hard. As an example, prices in La Chapelle (the 18th arrondissement) have fallen by 14.6% between July 2020 and September 2023, compared to a price increase of a staggering 39% between 2015 and 2020. Medium-sized cities are still relatively resilient. According to Thierry Vignal, co-founder of Masteos, a landlord investment platform, this is evidence that quality of life and affordable prices appeal most to buyers. It remains uncertain whether the positive price trend in medium-sized cities will continue.
Below is a summary of the price development for the period from September 2022 to September 2023, based on Fnaim’s database.
