A lull in the property market In France is well underway but there are some areas – particularly in the south – which are still reporting increasing prices.
These are the findings from the latest set of notaire data, released last week, which covers all property sales within metropolitan France.
The report gives the most comprehensive overview available and is based on actual sales up to the end of the second quarter (April - June) of 2023.
In addition to highlighting key trends, it details price changes for both houses and apartments.
Here we look at key points from the report.
Is a crash in house prices on the way?
The data covers the change in median prices between April/June 2022 and April/June 2023.
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This means more recent reports since June are not represented. The data for recent purchases will be available in the next quarterly report.
However, many areas in the new data already show year-on-year price drops, some of almost 10%.
This includes the Haute-Corse area, which over previous quarters had one of the strongest annual increases in house price values.
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The areas with the largest price decreases were:
Amiens: -9.8%
Haute-Corse:-8.8%
Chartres: -8.1%
Mediterranean strength
Only three areas in mainland France recorded year-on-year growth of more than 2%. Two of these were in the south, which shows the continuing appeal of Mediterranean property on the housing market.
The three areas with the largest increases in prices for homes year on year were:
Caen: +2.4%
Toulon: +5.6%
Corse-du-Sud: +7.5%
This is also illustrated by the areas with the most expensive median price for homes.
Four of the top five towns are all on the southern coast:
Corse-du-Sud: €484,000
Toulon: €475,300
Lyon: €430,500
Montpellier: €405,100
Marseille/Aix-en-Provence: €398,500
Note that the report does not distinguish between Paris house prices and those of suburban and commuter towns from the wider Île-de-France region, which brings down the overall median house price there.
The three least expensive areas were:
Châteauroux: €136,500
Amiens: €171,400
Limoges: €177,200
How have house prices changed around France?
Credit: Notaires de France / The Connexion
House prices also include those of the banlieues (suburban areas), which may cause prices to appear lower in some larger cities.
The data also covers the value of apartments, presenting the median value per m² in a number of towns and cities.
In comparison to house prices, more places recorded small price increases between April/June 2022 and the same period in 2023.
However, a number of areas still recorded decreases, with the greatest three being:
Bourges: - 5.2%
Paris: - 4.4%
Nantes: - 4.3%
Despite recording one of the biggest falls in price per m², Paris remains by far the most expensive place to buy an apartment – with prices more than double those of any other town or city.
Notaires confirmed in their report that the price of property in Paris has now fallen below €10,000 per m², but during the second trimester of 2023 it had not yet fallen, so this figure is not included in this data set.
The three most expensive areas to buy an apartment in France are:
Paris: €10,130 per m²
Lyon: €4,920
Nice: €4,760
Other Mediterranean apartments also performed well
The map also shows that apartments in the south of the country performed much better than those in the north.
With the exception of Bordeaux, every property south of the Bourges-Clermont-Ferrand-Lyon line saw prices rise, with some even in double figures.
However, in the north, most major cities saw small increases at best or – as in most cases – a decrease in prices in real terms.
The three best-performing areas were:
Corse-du-Sud: 12.2% per m²
Nîmes: 10.4%
Nice: 9.9%
The three least expensive areas were all in the centre/east of France:
